Fantasy is fantasy. It's fiction. It's not meant to be a textbook. I don't believe in letting research overwhelm the fiction. That's a danger of science fiction in particular, as opposed to fantasy. A lot of writers forget that what they're doing is supposed to be art.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes that fantasy and fiction should prioritize creativity and artistic expression over strict adherence to research and realism.
N. K. Jemisin highlights the distinction between fantasy and other genres, particularly science fiction, by arguing that fiction should remain a form of art rather than a textbook burdened by research. She warns against the tendency for writers to let scientific accuracy eclipse the imaginative and artistic aspects of storytelling, suggesting that the primary goal of fiction should be to evoke creativity and wonder.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a writing workshop to inspire authors to trust their creative instincts.
Magic is the mysteries into which not everyone is so lucky, or unlucky, as to be initiated. It can be affected by belief, the whims of the unseen, harsh language. And it is not. Supposed. To make. Sense. In fact, I think it's coolest when it doesn't.
I don't really understand why so many fantasy writers choose to focus on worlds that just seem strangely denuded. But to them, I guess it doesn't seem strange. And I guess that's their privilege. It isn't mine.
I write what feels real. I write things that are informed both by my own experience and by actual history.
Reactionary movements can't sustain themselves unless they find something new to catch and burn on.
There's a thriving field of self-published stuff in, particularly, black fiction. I don't know that other groups of people of color have that same recourse.
I've always believed that as an artist, as a writer, you need a lot of contact with other people to make your art good.
Once it is out of his hand the artist has no control over the way a viewer will perceive the work. Different people will understand the same thing in a different way.
In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.
In my low periods, I wondered what was the point of creating art. For whom? Are we animating God? Are we talking to ourselves? And what was the ultimate goal? To have one's work caged in art's great zoos - the Modern, the Met, the Louvre?
I write my books at moments of shock. I meet people in extremis and their stories are highly emotionally charged.
If you just love movies enough, you can make a good one.
There is only one true thing: instantly paint what you see. When you've got it, you've got it. When you haven't, you begin again. All the rest is humbug.
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