I get to use fiction as a way to work out my thinking and to delight readers in the process. I can't think of any deal that's better for me, and I'm always so grateful that readers have indulged me as I argue with myself in my stories.
Ken LiuRead
There are so many different narrative traditions across the world, and each of those traditions has evolved dramatically over time. Once I understood that, I felt truly free; I could write and invent the way I wanted to because there never has been only one way to tell a good story.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Different narrative traditions provide creative freedom in storytelling.
In this quote, Ken Liu emphasizes the vast diversity of narrative traditions found around the globe and their evolution over time. By recognizing that there isn't a singular method to tell an engaging story, he feels liberated to express his creativity and explore various storytelling techniques, encouraging others to break free from conventional constraints.
Themes
StorytellingNarrativeCreativityFreedomTradition
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, when discussing the importance of narrative styles.
More from Ken Liu
All quotes →As a species, we tend to live in environments where our own artifacts dominate. The way we shape our environment and are in turn shaped by it is a key theme in my fiction - indeed, it's a key part of a great deal of science fiction.
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In creating the silkpunk aesthetic, I was influenced by the ideas of W. Brian Arthur, who articulates a vision of technology as a language.
Ken LiuRead
The truth is not delicate and it does not suffer from denial—the truth only dies when true stories are untold.
Ken LiuRead
Labels like 'Chinese Science Fiction' or 'Western Science Fiction' summarize a vast field of work, all of which are diverse and driven by individual authors, with individual concerns.
Ken LiuRead
I think that what's unique about sci-fi - at least from the view of a lot of Chinese writers - is that sci-fi is least-rooted in the particular culture that they're writing from.
Ken LiuRead
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