Solving the Plot versus Exploring the Soul

Fiction is a delicate art.  "Pure" fiction - the kind of literary works that focus entirely on the exploration of human nature - is by nature unpredictable.  Genre fiction, in contrast, is sometimes seen as a kind of mechanical stepchild.  This perception is due to the somewhat artificial rules of the genre writing - just as mysteries require criminals and romance novels demand lovers, science fiction lives on robots and aliens while fantasy is carried on the backs of dragons.

When writing stories set in the alternative realities of speculative fiction, we must be careful that the so-called "rules of engagement" genre don't blind us to the primary goal of quality fiction: revealing a deeper understanding of the human experience.