Introduction

How can we gain a more holistic understanding of nature through exploring the beliefs of different cultures? The following is a short novella, a fictional story written, edited, and designed for print. It’s a science fiction story about two humans from a futuristic city who discover magical nature spirits inhabiting a nearby forest. It explores how we think about our relationship with the natural world. 

Literature Review

The idea for a suspenseful, sci-fi short story originated from The Twilight Zone, an anthology TV show that uses shocking twists and supernatural scenarios to provide insightful social commentary. The writing style and design is based on the many short stories that accompanied (and even inspired) the show's most memorable episodes. Additional inspiration came from the magical tales of Studio Ghibli, including films such as Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and Nausica of the Valley of the Wind. These movies explore the conflicts that arise from disharmony between man and nature, which helped inform the characters and themes in this work.

The idea to explore nature came from taking a class on campus about Climate Change (AOSC123), which explored the psychology of why people deny current environmental issues and feel distant from nature altogether (Henrikson, 2024). This story is less about Climate Change specifically (though weather does play a key role in the plot) and more about “nature” in general, and how it’s perceived across different cultures. Using journal articles, research was conducted about how, in the West (Europe and the United States), we generally think of humans and nature as separate entities. We tend to feel more removed from how our actions impact the environment, viewing it as something to exploit for humanity’s benefit. By contrast, in the East (Asia), this culture strives to find harmony between man and nature, often manifesting itself as gods and spirits for people to worship, emphasizing reverence rather than dominance (Nakamura, 1992). These ideas are explored through the story, which is told from the perspective of skeptical humans, who are accustomed to feeling “separate” from nature. This is represented by the city they live in, which has quite literally walled itself off from the outside world.

Methods

This project utilized YouTube tutorials for tips on how to write a compelling story. Afterwards, a detailed plot summary and character profiles were created. Then, the story was written chapter-by-chapter in a Google Doc, using a summary of each chapter, written beforehand, as guidance. The entire work was edited by the author and with the help of peers. Adobe Photoshop was used for the cover and Adobe Illustrator for the back cover. All of the text was placed into an Adobe InDesign file, which was exported and printed through Barnes and Noble Press. Posters were printed at McKeldin Library.

Audience & Impact

This novella is mainly from the perspective of Westerners who live in the United States. It wrestles with whether these human characters can put aside their feelings of separateness and embrace a little more harmony and reverence for the complex world they inhabit. The protagonists are both relatively young, symbolizing the confusion and frustration felt among younger generations regarding how we take care of our planet. If we do not act now, they are the ones who will be left standing years from now to deal with the consequences. This work will change people’s minds about how they view nature, which is the first step towards inspiring actual change. Lovers of sci-fi, suspense, novels, and nature alike will find particular interest in this work!

References

Henrikson, Jeffrey. “Climate Communication.” AOSC 123, 6 Dec. 2024, University of Maryland.

Nakamura, H. The idea of nature in the east in comparison with the west. GeoJournal 26, 113–128 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00241205

Acknowledgements

I want to thank all of the people who helped bring this book to life, including my family, my fellow Arts Scholars, my outside friends (who generously agreed to read my story), and Arts Scholars Associate Director Heather Bremenstuhl for all of her guidance and support. I've never written a book before, so it was a lot of fun to dip my toes into the world of writing!