Why do writers use the fantasy genre?
The major advantage of fantasy is that it can open up possibilities; it is not confined to the boundaries of the real world. Writers are able to convey complex ideas on a symbolic level that would be difficult to convey otherwise. Fantasy works can provide a fresh perspective on the real world. Ursula Le Guin has written that “fantasy is true, of course. It isn’t factual, but it is true.”1 The fantasy genre involves a different way of apprehending existence but it is no less true than realism. Fantasy stories can suggest universal truths through the use of magic and the supernatural.
