I don't think I make much of a distinction between the 'real' and the 'fantastic.' They both seem to be threads in the same cloth as far as I'm concerned.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The magical and fantastical isn't something I'm uncomfortable with in books, and I chafe slightly at the idea that a purely realist novel somehow has more value.
In all my books, I try to have a strong element of realism underlying the fantastic.
I'll tell you this about the Oscars - they're real.
The hair is real - it's the head that's a fake.
It seemed to me that you make magic real by making it a little prosaic, a little difficult and disappointing - never quite as glamorous as the other characters imagine.
I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told.
What's the difference between Hollywood characters and my characters? Mine are real.
When you work on something that combines both the spectacular and the relatable, the hyperreal and the real, it suddenly can become supernatural. The hypothetical and the theoretical can become literal.
Realism is a bad word. In a sense everything is realistic. I see no line between the imaginary and the real.
They're just actors. I much prefer the real thing!