Ben Ulansey

Ben grapples with the challenge of authentically portraying the omnipresence of technology in contemporary stories. Drawing from his college writing class critique of Cath Crowley's 'Words in Deep Blue,' he argues that accurately depicting our digital lives risks making fiction feel dystopian or mundane. While some creators lean into the pervasiveness of screens and notifications, others avoid setting stories in the modern era altogether. Ben suggests the inescapable intrusion of phones stunts creativity and diminishes escapism - the very essence of great storytelling. In the past and future, writers find respite from 'the stifling shackles of the present' and greater imaginative freedom.