Thursday, July 9, 2009

Liar Liar


Writing fiction is such a joy! You can lie all you want! And, maybe in lying, tell a different kind of truth. Writing fiction is how I could be making a living, but I prefer the absolute certainty of poverty that blogging gives me.

Writing fiction is a wonderful, creative form of writing. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time, but that does not mean to say that I am no longer interested in writing my non-fiction books and blogging well into the wee hours of the morning. Writing fiction is something I hope to do more of and will include links to my stories on this page.

When you started writing fiction, you probably did so at about the same time that you discovered that not only did your parents not have all the answers to the universe, but neither did anybody else.

There is a serendipitous journey to be taken when writing a novel, where things unfold in surprising and exciting ways the writer couldn’t have foretold. Part of the joy of writing fiction is the excitement of sitting at a keyboard and watching words appear on the screen and a story take shape as if by magic.

Fiction gives us the greatest possible freedom to tell stories --- and I believe very much in the power of stories to influence the way people think. Writing fiction is a great escape from reality.

What do you think? Are fiction writers lying or imagining? Can you “lie" up a good story, book, or novel? Have you ever thought about doing it?
© 2009 by Leona G. Shankle

8 comments:

  1. I'll just quote Stephen King: Fiction is the truth inside the lie.

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  2. there is so much variety in the human experience that I doubt anything you write is a lie because someone somewhere has lived it. sounds fun. I'm still into non-fiction...

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  3. I can't imagine a fictional novel being thought of as a lie...unless it was presented as the truth.

    You certainly make the idea of writing a short fictional story sound appealing. When, oh when, will my life slow down and will I have the energy remaining at the end of my day to sit at the computer without having my forehead land with a kerplunk on the keyboard? I can't even think of getting up any earlier than I do. There just wouldn't be a point in going to bed.

    I love this kind of encouragement. It's so much better than the "rah! rah! you can do it, girl!" It makes me WANT to so darn much!

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  4. I love writing the "lies" inside of fiction. It's so freeing.

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  5. I'm always very amazed at the wonderful imagination of fiction writers. I wouldn't even know where to start. It sounds really exciting to imagine another life, another path, another outcome.

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  6. Lol, I like to think of it as "imagining." Hee hee. I've never been a very good liar.

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  7. Beth quoted the perfect line from SK.

    I don't think writing fiction is a lie, but an exploration in the human nature even when you're talking sci-fi/fantasy.

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  8. Hi, Leona!

    Wow-if I thought that fictional stories were considered to be "lies" in the eyes of the Lord, I wouldn't be able to ever write another word!

    Thankfully, I've always viewed them as just a fun way of entertainment; a way of using our imaginations that link back to the original, nonfictional story-telling days of our ancestors. People love to hear stories about other people; it's as simple as that. And the juicier the story, the better they like it.

    My preference in stories is either a well-written mystery or a poignant family story with a moral to the story a happy ending. I could read stories like that all day long, if I had the time, of course.

    Until next time,
    ~Cynde
    Cynde's Got The Write Stuff

    Don't forget to tell everyone about your "Guest Interview" on my blog, ok?

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