Lucy Yuan: "Dear Michael Damian and Lynne Thomas: I Like It Because It's Short"

Dear Michael Damian and Lynne Thomas: I Like It Because It’s Short

By Lucy Yuan

Ever since I could pick up a book, I have always had a hankering for stories of beyond the typical realm of reality. My favorite stories were always ones that involved talking animals or uber-intelligent robots or something of that sort. I never worried about being a “serious” reader, because come on, at age twelve, who really cared about being scholarly when you could read about ALIENS?? Even now, six years later, still love science fiction and fantasy. Maybe it’s because I’m not technically a fully-fledged adult, which, according to David Hartwell’s The Golden Age of Science Fiction is Twelve, means that I haven’t been “fully integrated into the tedium of adult life and tend to view everyday life with healthy suspicion.” But that doesn’t matter. I take pride in being “healthily suspicious” because it means that I believe that life is something full of possibilities, beyond just the mundane. I continue to read speculative fiction because I crave stories that will stimulate my imagination, building a greater vision for what our world could truly be.

Truly, the best part of speculative fiction is the fact that it pushes the boundaries of reality. The curious sensation of fearlessness after reading a particularly creative science fiction/fantasy stories is rarely experienced in our typical lives. For example, after reading something like Harry Potter, a world full of witches and wizards seems like it could truly exist. While reading spec fic, even for the briefest moment, I am in a world where the impossible becomes reality, inspiring me to find bits of magic in my daily life.

Yet as I have grown up, I have definitely been reading less speculative fiction than I did when I was twelve. There just simply isn’t enough time! My generation is all about speed. We complain about slow Wi-Fi, digest our news through quick, bite-sized pieces…even our recipes are sped up at high speed in online cooking videos. We always seem to be a million things going on at once, especially at a crazy school like IMSA. Very rarely do I ever find myself with an opportunity to just sit down, relax, and fully read a book cover to cover. Therefore, the best part of short speculative fiction is the fact that it’s short, making it a great way to reach out to my busy and impatient peers.

Short speculative fiction provides a very easily digested dose of “thinking outside the box”/“a world beyond reality”. Especially with the impending doom of college apps coming up, I find myself constantly working, resulting in a monotonous cycle. I don’t have time to read full novels, especially because I can never seem to stop once I start. Often, I must force myself NOT to read novels because once I start, all productivity will cease until the story is over. (I read all of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in less than 48 hours). Thus, a brief spec fic story serves as a perfect way to briefly get away from my boring, everyday lives and visit a new, exciting world.

The brevity of short spec fic is also the best part for those who aren’t major speculative fiction fans like me. Some say that speculative fiction fandoms have a cult-like following, so people are afraid/don’t have the time to become a fully fledged member. Reading short speculative fiction is like trying out the waters, dating without fully committing. Those first intense moments are what builds up the courage for people to give it a shot in the long haul. I honestly believe speculative fiction is something that we all need every once in a while to leave our mundane lives and be reminded of what humanity could be. I keep on reading it because I crave that escape from reality, however brief it may be.

tl;dr

I read spec fic because it’s exciting. I read short spec fic because it’s short.