What inspires

When I was a kid, one of the first cartoons I adored was not Strawberry Shortcake or the Care Bears.  Nor was I influenced by Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck.  No, my favorite of all favorite movies was The Last Unicorn.  I don't remember being fascinated with Unicorns at the time.  I also don't remember when I first saw it.  But I do remember how much I loved it and when I saw it out on DVD for my kids a few years ago I picked it up without hesitation.  I knew that I had to share it with them.  Yet, despite the years and the amount of times I have watched this beloved classic of mine, not once did I fully comprehend how much I was inspired and influenced by it.

Until tonight.

As a treat, I told the kids that I would watch one of their movies with them.  I do this frequently when I've finished all my work and they've behaved for the day.  Today they went beyond good behavior because when I sat down to do some writing, they didn't stay downstairs and disturb me with their play or with their questions.  Instead, without any prompting for me, decided to play upstairs.  I was so proud and thankful for their thoughtfulness, I decided to watch a movie with them.  My daughter chose The Last Unicorn as she is at the age of adoring those wonderful and magical animals.

And I watched every second, mesmerized by the beauty of it and the story, the magic that shows us not only that we can fight against what frightens us, but that change proves to help us.  Still, I didn't fully clue in on the impact that this story had on me until it came to the scene where the Wizard Schmendrick changed the Unicorn into a human woman.  There she stood, pale as snow, with hair as white as the clouds looking frail, beautiful, and lost.  It wasn't this that had transfixed me.  No, what had was the pink star on her forehead that symbolized the place where her horn once stood.  In that second, when she lifted her bangs to show that star, I realized how much of an impact this movie had on me.

What do I mean?  My masterpiece, the Golden Crown, has in it a race of women who are strong, magical, and beautiful.  They are powerful and important to the world I created.  How can you tell when a woman is a Dancer?  By the star on their forehead that looks (in my minds eye) much like the Lady Amalthea's star did on hers.  I saw in that moment tonight not the Lady Amalthea, but instead the youngest Dancer in the frailty and the other two Dancers in appearance.  A mix of my magical race who came to be to help save the world though they do not realize it.

When I saw that I was shell shocked.  I never once thought that The Last Unicorn had made such an impact or had inspired one of the most beloved characters I have ever created.  This shows me that all that I hear, see, think and experience eventually comes out in my writing.  The world, in all its glory and divinity, is my muse and I hope I never, ever lose that.  I hope that it will continue to inspire me as The Last Unicorn has for the rest of my life.  I was so moved that I had to share it.