The writers from Altered Fluid<\/a> are back!\u00a0 Below, five of them tackle a question at the very heart of what they do as writers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brief bios of the authors appear after the interview.<\/em><\/p>\n

*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why is speculative fiction important?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

*<\/strong><\/p>\n

PAUL M. BERGER:<\/strong> Because asking \u201cWhat if?\u201d is the best way to examine where we\u2019re going and where we are.\u00a0 And not just in terms of shiny things that light up, either.<\/p>\n

DEVIN POORE: <\/strong>\u00a0I recently read an interview with Dr. Robert Ballard, the archaeologist of Titanic fame, and he said that he became interested in sea exploration after reading 20,000 Leagues under the Sea<\/em>. I think someone being inspired to go outside of himself by a story, to follow a path he might never have otherwise, is where the importance lies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MATTHEW KRESSEL: <\/strong>Speculative fiction can often comment on the world in ways that other fiction can\u2019t.\u00a0 For example, Ursula K. LeGuin often comments on feminism and gender issues in her writing.\u00a0 China Mi\u00e9ville comments about social structures and governance.\u00a0 Science fiction considers the future and all its nasty and beautiful ramifications before it comes to pass.\u00a0 Science fiction in some ways has invented<\/em> the future.\u00a0 The creator of the cell phone took his idea directly from the Star Trek<\/em> communicators.\u00a0 We view the world through the window of stories.\u00a0\u00a0
\n
\nSALADIN AHMED: <\/strong>Well, first off I\u2019d rather talk about usefulness<\/em> or helpfulness<\/em>, since I think writers pat themselves on the back a bit too often about their capital-I Importance.\u00a0 In any case, I think it\u2019s interesting that most people answering this question are talking about science fiction, per se<\/em>.\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty strictly a fantasy writer, so my answer might be different.\u00a0 I think fantasy is helpful for almost contradictory reasons. It helps us escape this crummy, depressing world, if only for a short time.\u00a0 But when we return it helps us imagine a less crummy and depressing world.<\/p>\n

E. C. MYERS:\u00a0 <\/strong>Speculative Fiction gives us experiences we can\u2019t possibly have in real life, challenges us to think about and question ourselves and our society, and provides us with different perspectives. It can teach us how to relate to others and the world around us, even when the world in the story is on another planet, in our imagined past, or in another universe.<\/p>\n

I tend to write YA, and I think fiction in general is even more important to young readers because it can actually shape the way they think while they\u2019re trying to figure out who they are and where they fit into the world–and it\u2019s good to escape from the pressures of reality for a little while. At least, speculative fiction did that for me when I was a kid.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Saladin Ahmed\u2019s<\/a> <\/em>fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, IGMS, Clockwork Phoenix 2<\/a><\/em>, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies<\/em>. His novel Throne of the Crescent Moon<\/em> is forthcoming from DAW Books.<\/p>\n

Paul M. Berger\u2019s<\/a> writing has appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Strange Horizons, Interzone, Escape Pod,<\/em> and Weird Tales<\/em>, among other places. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew Kressel\u2019s<\/a> “The History Within Us<\/a>” appeared in Clarkesworld<\/em> and the “The Suffering Gallery” will appear in Beneath Ceaseless Skies<\/em>. He is the publisher of
\nSybil’s Garage<\/a><\/em><\/em> and the co-host of the Fantastic Fiction reading series at KGB with Ellen Datlow.<\/p>\n

E.(ugene) C. Myers\u2019<\/a> fiction has appeared in Sybil’s Garage No. 7<\/em> and will appear in a forthcoming issue of Shimmer Magazine<\/em>. His first young adult novel, Fair Coin<\/em>, is on submission with publishers.<\/p>\n

Devin Poore<\/a> is an assistant editor and non-fiction contributor to Sybil’s Garage<\/em>, and a writer of short stories and novels in which the world isn’t quite as it should be.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeremy L. C. Jones <\/em><\/a>is a freelance writer, editor, and teacher.\u00a0\u00a0He is the staff Interviewer for <\/em>Clarkesworld Magazine<\/em><\/a> and a frequent contributor to <\/em>Kobold Quarterly<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 He teaches at <\/em>Wofford College<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Montessori Academy<\/em><\/a> in Spartanburg, SC.\u00a0 He is also the director of <\/em>Shared Worlds<\/em><\/a>, a creative writing and world-building camp for teenagers that he and <\/em>Jeff VanderMeer <\/em><\/a>designed in 2006.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The writers from Altered Fluid are back!\u00a0 Below, five of them tackle a question at the very heart of what they do as writers.\u00a0 Brief bios of the authors appear after the interview. * Why is speculative fiction important? * PAUL M. BERGER: Because asking \u201cWhat if?\u201d is the best way to examine where we\u2019re going and where we are.\u00a0 And not just in terms of shiny things that light up, either. DEVIN POORE: \u00a0I recently read an interview with Dr. Robert Ballard, the archaeologist of Titanic fame, and he said that he became interested in sea exploration after reading 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. I think someone being inspired to go outside of himself by a story, to follow a path he might never have otherwise, is where the importance lies.\u00a0 MATTHEW KRESSEL: Speculative fiction can often comment on the world in ways that other fiction can\u2019t.\u00a0 For example, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1192"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1195,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions\/1195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booklifenow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}