musingaloud | U is for Unicorns

U is for Unicorns

Who doesn't love unicorns? Or, maybe a better question would be, who will admit to loving unicorns? When I first started reading fantasy, unicorn stories abounded. Unicorns are symbolic about everything fantasy stands for -- that mystical, magical thing that doesn't exist, but *might*. I mean, folklore says there were such creatures, so maybe, just maybe? The possibilities of imagination, the unseen, hidden worlds, the things that Used to Be but Are No More. In my story file, one of the earliest entries is a unicorn story. Sadly, I never got around to writing it.

Once everybody and their brother and six uncles and step-grandparents started writing stories about unicorns, they quickly became passé. Trust me, if you want to write a unicorn story, it had better be Damn Fine and Entirely New and Awesome or your story will be the object of editorial snark. Sorry, but true. It's a damn shame, I say, that the poor unicorn has come to this. Likewise for elves. At least dragons still garner a little respect. Maybe I should start a Unicorn Fan Club.

Want a laugh? Go read about the idea for a Unicorn Success Club.