In Favor of Imagining Dragons

“What’s the point of making up stuff?” My friend had once asked when I told her about the fantasy book I was working on. “It’s not real.”

I tried my best at the time to make a fair point for the career path I have chosen, the path of making stuff up. I don’t think I was very articulate. Ironic, eh.

Why is it important to make stuff up when it’s not even real?

I don’t think the logical implications of that sentiment ever bothered me. Why NOT make stuff up, I say? What’s a world without made-up dragons?

The real answer I think is this —

You will never make what you don’t imagine. Essentially, you limit reality when you limit imagination.

It is probably the hardest part of being Indian. Imagination is almost a sin in India, but that’s a can of worms for another time.

Why make stuff up?

Because it expands the definition of what’s possible.

(Also, it’s very fun to do. Just ask any Mathematicians you know. The real ones. If you know what I mean.)