Because here’s the thing: No matter how much one tells stories of magical beasts or impossible worlds, in the end, it is always the world of here and now one is writing about. The better one understands that world, the more powerful the stories will be.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that storytelling, no matter how fantastical, ultimately reflects the real world. Understanding reality deeply enhances the storytelling process.
In this quote, Steven Brust highlights the inherent connection between fantasy literature and the reality surrounding the writer. He suggests that even the most imaginative stories are rooted in the author's observations and experiences of the 'here and now.' By deeply understanding the world we live in, writers can create more impactful and relatable narratives that resonate with readers, as those stories are enriched by genuine insights and perspectives on life.
In practice
In a writing workshop, this quote can inspire new authors to draw inspiration from their lived experiences.
In our memories, there is a graveyard where we bury our dead. They all lie there together, the loved ones and the ones we hated, friends and foes and kin, with no distinction among them. We have to mourn every one of them, because our memories have made them as much a part of us as our bones or our skin. If we don't, we've no right to remember anything at all.
Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed.
His element is so fine _x000D_ _x000D_ Being sharpened by his death, _x000D_ _x000D_ To drink from the wine-breath _x000D_ _x000D_ While our gross palates drink from the whole wine.
What I'm fighting for now in my work... for an expression relevant to all manner of blacks, poems I could take into a tavern, into the street, into the halls of a housing project.
Unfortunately, there aren't enough interesting acting roles in New Zealand to sustain a career.
I was just a punk kid, trying to get a sound out of a guitar that I couldn't get off the rack, so I built one myself ... I wanted a Gibson type of sound but with a Strat vibrato .. I went to town painting it and I put three pickups back in, but they don't work - only the rear one works
Making pictures is a very simple act. There is no great secret in photography...schools are a bunch of crap. You just need practice and application of what you've learned. My absolute conviction is that if you are working reasonably well the only important thing is to keep shooting...it doesn't matter whether you are making money or not. Keep working, because as you go through the process of working things begin to happen.
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