Writing is not easy, yet here I am, sitting in this chair, doing it anyway. Why? Because if there’s any magic in this world, it is found in the ability to tell stories and make them feel true. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
Fantasy might be make-believe, but it allows for the exploration of the human mind. It says, “when the world is at its bleakest, this is how humanity reacts.” Yet it also says, “Remember, we’re all still human.” It allows a person to look at the world and say, yes it is dark and messy; yes, people make good choices for bad reasons and bad choices for good reasons, yet here we are, living anyway.
And how can one possibly turn down a book with flying, fire-breathing dragons in it? How can one wrinkle their nose in disdain at a story with magic? How can one refuse a novel with such endless possibility?
More importantly, why would one write a story that falls back on so many tropes when the genre literally has such unlimited creative potential?
Give me a pen, some paper, and a little bit of time, and I’ll write that creative story for you.
Katie Bachelder 