The One Thing I Always Prioritize

Written by Tao Wong

The one thing that always creeps into any of my work – even the cozy works – has always been about the cost, or the price, for choices. I think without considering, or valuing the cost of actions, the sacrifices one makes, work and life itself loses meaning somewhat. That choice comes through in a number of my works, and in a variety of ways.

Choices Have a Cost

For Wu Ying in THE FIRST STEP, one of the earliest conflicts he has is the price he will pay in choosing to seriously pursue immortal cultivation. By joining the Verdant Green Waters sect, he is paying a price in loneliness and differentiation from his family. Joining the sect means he will be changed, forever. Not just from the skills he learns and the experiences he gains, but by stepping away from the farming life he knows, he will also lose the close-knit bonds of family.

It’s the same choice that college students who leave for university, refugees and immigrants make when they leave their countries, or even those who choose to leave their hometowns. It’s a journey into the unknown, a price paid in solitude and uncertainty.

That’s not the only time, though there’s a price…

Power Has a Price

In my worlds, there’s never a power that comes without a cost. There’s always a bargain to be made. It’s clearest with Daniel in the ADVENTURES ON BRAD, where his Gift of healing comes with the price of losing his memories. Every time he saves someone, every time he chooses to utilize his ability, he sacrifices a portion of who he is.

That price adds stakes and tension throughout the story. It forces Daniel to choose how best to make his way through the world, how much of his gift to reveal, and who he can trust with his secret. As healing magic is rare and healing adventurers even rarer, his chosen profession places high demand on individuals like him, making his ability a trap as well.

And Sometimes, Not Choosing, Too

For all that, inaction is a cost in my worlds as well. Choosing not to act, when one can, is a major burden. Not just on the world but the individual itself. The choice to grow into seclusion, to become nothing more than a chef, to utilize little of the magic that he carries weighs on Mo Meng in THE NAMELESS RESTAURANT.

Even more, when Lily – an old friend and a powerful magician in her own right – comes barging in, the argument that erupts between her and others about the choices made to utilize magic to solve the worldwide pandemic is ferocious.

Here, the price of not acting is also in choosing not to enact potential tragedies in the future. To allow things to play out, no matter the cost in guilt or conscience, because choosing to take part could result in further tragedy.

Sometimes, knowing when to move is more important than moving.

Heroism isn’t Heroism…

Without a little sacrifice. That’s the central conceit of most of my work. The prices my characters pay, the costs they enforce upon others, or their willingness to accept the cost of their actions or inactions dictate the kind of people and their place in my books.

Whether we know it or not, there’s a price to be paid for every choice, every action. It’s the individuals’ willingness to take on that cost, what they’re willing to sacrifice – or not – that is central to my stories. Even if I never truly knew that when I first started writing.

So if you’re looking for works where the choices matter, where heroes are heroes because they’re willing to pay the price of being heroic, come read my work.