Worldbuilding satisfies the desire to “be a real maker,” J.R.R. Tolkien remarked in his 1947 essay “On Fairy Stories.” The creator should “hope that he is drawing on reality,” for the qualities of the world should aim to capture some truth, some essence of reality.

To me, it’s very important to think about speculative fiction and worldmaking as two approaches for better orienting ourselves to the present, rather than conjuring escapist utopian futures that will never arrive.