By Taili Gao
What I love the most about writing is that it has no limits. We are free to invent our own worlds according to our own rules. Literature is a way to express ourselves in whatever format or setting we deem appropriate. Ideas in literature can be shown in multiple ways. For example, I believe that just like a story about high school students, a story about dragons casting spells on magicians can convey an equally meaningful message.
Writing does not need to adhere to the norms of our contemporary society, nor is it required to speak for a social justice issue. As a child, I loved reading fantasy novels because they granted me an escape into a new world where anything I wished could come true. While many fantasy stories do provide social commentary, the setting and characters lie beyond what exists in reality. Being unrepresentative of real life is part of the reason why these books were especially compelling to me. The imaginary elements made the stories more engaging and intriguing to read. Exploring literary works of imagined worlds was exciting and adventurous. It offered a unique experience and expanded my perspective on what is possible.
While writing doesn’t have to represent real life or be realistic, it must make sense. Stories don’t have to follow the rules of our society, but they still need to be logically coherent and follow the rules of their world. For example, if a fantasy story told of a generational feud and constant fighting between dragons fighting magicians (things that would never happen in our world!) imagine how confusing and frustrating it would be to read that the two groups suddenly decided to become friends. A similar example in literature would be if the Capulets and Montagues in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet resolved their feud immediately after the prince appeared at their fray at the beginning of the story. If Shakespeare did write his story like this, readers may question whether the relationships between the two families were actually as described in the story. In short, I believe that as long as the writing makes sense in its setting and doesn’t contradict a previously established relationship or situation, there is no limit as to how much it can deviate from real life.
Taili Gao is a blogger at Voices and Senior Editor at Polyphony.