Erich w/ an h
Erich w/ an h asked David Wong:

There is a lot of positivity and negativity in the world. When you're writing fiction, is it easier for you to take inspiration from one or the other, or do you cull from both and keep a balance?

David Wong Well no one reads fiction because they want to feel worse about the world. We like stories of monsters and serial killers and war because it gives us a chance to tell the stories of the people who stood up and overcame those things. If it's one of those stories where the monster wins in the end, then you can close the book and say, "Wow, my life isn't so bad in comparison to that!" Stories about a dystopian future are usually a plea to the present to make sure it doesn't come about.

The best stories dive into the bad stuff that's really going on in the world and explore how it impacts people, and their relationships, and finds something inspiring or admirable in how they get by.
David Wong
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