Between Fiction and Reality

Content warnings: mentions of eating disorders, death

Art by Asma Ahmed

There is no way to truly describe the feeling of having someone experience the same things you have, the feeling of someone understanding what you’ve been through and assuring you that you’re not alone. Often, fictional pieces reciprocate these feelings almost flawlessly. Though, while fictional, there is truth buried deep within the pages because there are humans who experience and feel just as we do between them.

Critically acclaimed authors, Victoria Ying and Farah Naz Rishi discuss their inspirations, hardships and what it means to write fiction and build stories as Asian American creators. Ying, a Taiwanese American creator who fell deeply in love with illustrative story-telling at a young age, and Rishi, a Pakistani American writer who found comfort in spinning stories, both speak about the importance of writing with a purpose.

I asked Ying and Rishi to describe where the line is drawn between reality and fiction for each of them, and how much of themselves they put into their work. “I think it’s almost inauthentic to not include at least some of yourself. I think that’s why there are certain authors that we tend to connect to… they almost feel like a friend to you. I would argue it’s not possible to completely cut the author out of the writing. I don’t necessarily believe in the death of the author,” said Rishi. The “death of the author” refers to the phenomenon in which the reader is “born.” To clarify, the argument is that an author's intentions or identity holds no sovereignty over the interpretation of their writing, completely severing reality from fiction. Some may use French poet Charles Baudelaire or author J.K Rowling as examples of this.

Ying said that she does use real-life experiences to guide her writing, though she introduces “structure,” to keep it within the fictional realm. This preference for tipping the scales of reality and fantasy is ultimately up to the author.

I wondered if they felt obligated to share a part of themselves in their stories, because someone may find comfort in connecting with similar experiences as an Asian American. As Ying, Rishi and I spoke more about their individual novels, I asked how growing up Asian American has affected the way they write stories. Ying said that for a while she didn’t think she had anything to say to this particular question, and instead she thought to keep her head down and be successful. “But then I actually took the time to think about my experiences and how they were unique,” Ying said. She mentioned her newest story “Hungry Ghost”, coming out in April 2023. “Hungry Ghost” is a heart-wrenching and provoking story about Valerie Chu, a young girl struggling to overcome her eating disorder, understand her family, and learn how to love herself. Ying mentions that she does sacrifice a lot of herself in this novel. Because the cultural conversations around eating disorders were and still remain so different in immigrant culture, Ying felt that it wasn’t reflected in any of the media she consumed, and she wanted to change that.

She wanted to tell a story and make sure people knew that they weren’t alone.

For this same question, Rishi added, “I have a lot of pride in being Pakistani American and Muslim. It kind of breaks my heart a little bit that there’s still such a substantial lack of representation in literature. So, of course, I want to do everything I possibly can to help bridge that gap even if I’m just a drop in the ocean. I also think that a lot of authors who are marginalized, not just Asian Americans, not just Pakistani Americans, but all marginalized authors kind of struggle with this idea that, because there is such little representation, our books have to somehow represent everyone within our group, which obviously isn’t possible. There’s quite a bit of balancing that constantly has to be done and so that’s been a bit of a struggle. But once we do find that balance, we will be freed from this expectation of representing everyone, which is impossible.”

There will never be a moment where one can represent all.

After establishing that some expectations are unrealistic within the realm of fiction, we dive into the realities of working in a creative field as Asian American women. Ying said, “I think that our culture has made it so that if you want to be a creative, you want to be a creative who makes money. So, I do think there were a lot of Asian Americans who were animators or artists who wanted to be creative but also have stability. I think that the biggest problems were definitely when people would either compare us to each other or think of us as the same category, even though we were different people.”

Rishi said, “I do think that, unfortunately, people tend to look at Asian American women as subservient and quiet and therefore, far easier to take advantage of and I find that to be the case in every industry, not just publishing. I definitely noticed that, unfortunately, I have been treated quite differently than my peers.”

Both authors also reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic and the insecurity and discomfort that came with it. “The pandemic has been extremely difficult. A lot of my love for writing comes from this feeling of empathy and wanting to connect with other people, and to kind of say the things that I feel, that we’re all feeling. Because of the pandemic, it feels like a lot of people have become un-feeling. That people might not care for each other as much as we hope. So that’s been difficult, tapping into that frustration,” said Rishi. Rishi mentioned that when she started her writing journey, her life was almost in shambles. She dealt with the deaths of her father, brother and mother in the span of a few months. So for her, writing through death after death had been really difficult. Rishi added, “I keep coming back to the word empathy because I think it is crucial to being a good writer. You have to trust and love your reader, and they have to trust that not only will you make a good story in the best way that it can be written, but you’re not necessarily going to hurt them, they have to trust that you’re going to tell the story the way it needs to be told. In order to get them to trust you, you have to have empathy.”

I was excited to ask Ying and Rishi about their inspirations. I wanted to know who inspired and fueled their creativity through hardships and periods of doubt. For Ying, authors like Octavia Butler, Kurt Vonnegut and Victoria E. Schwab are to credit. She mentioned that Schwab’s work made her “rediscover her love for fiction because she had lost that.” Rishi greatly credits Sabaa Tahir, a successful Pakistani American, Young Adult author. Rishi said, “Everything that she writes feels like she’s speaking directly to my heart.” They also mention authors Jonathan Stroud, Charles De Lint, bell hooks and T. Kingfisher.

On top of inspiration, I wanted to know their secrets for finding enjoyable stories. Rishi said, “I like when people can kind of make fun of themselves and situations and find humor in that. I think that is extremely important in the kinds of books that I tend to connect to the most. There is darkness in this world of course, but can you find the humor and joy in it?”

From Ying’s perspective: “It’s so different with every book. I feel like getting lost in the story and losing your sense of time... that’s when you know that the book is really speaking to you.”

All being said, finding art that connects with you is when it becomes enjoyable.

Rishi wrote for the anthology, “First-Year Orientation” coming out in April of 2023. “First-Year Orientation” is a cross-genre collection of short stories written by sixteen acclaimed authors. Each short story is a different account of the first-day-of-college experience.

I had the absolute honor of interviewing two incredibly talented Asian-American creators. As someone who indulges in both reading and writing, I’m always fascinated by this fine line. While reading, I tend to wonder which pieces of themselves they weave into the pages. Now equipped with new perspectives, I feel that writers must sacrifice a part of themselves in their work in order to make connections with their audience.