It seems to me that there are two sorts of people: those who
‘get’ fiction, and those who don’t. While some of us see nothing strange in
becoming totally involved with a fictional character who only lives in a novel,
play or film, there are others who look on with puzzled frowns.
‘But it’s not
real,’ they say. ‘There’s no such place, no such person. Why waste your time on
something that’s pure make-believe?’
Here’s one of my reasons …
I was dreading going to the dentist. Over the years, I’ve
had enough traumatic experiences connected with my teeth and dentists to fill a
non-fiction book, one of those depressing misery memoirs. But, once again, I had a dental problem and knew I'd have to be brave if I wanted to
solve it. Delaying a visit would only make matters worse.
My appointment wasn’t until the afternoon so, instead of
worrying about it all morning, I tried to distract myself by working on my
latest short story. I managed to write a few paragraphs, but the words weren’t
flowing and I soon ground to a halt. I knew what had to happen next in the
story but I couldn’t find the right way to explain it. After several attempts,
I gave up.
In the dentist’s chair, I relaxed physically as much as I
could while trying to convince myself that the ordeal would soon be over. I
took a deep breath, closed my eyes and – there it was! The next sentence in my
story. It was perfect. It moved the story on quickly and clearly, exactly as
I’d wanted. I ‘wrote’ the next sentence, and the next, repeating them over and
over to myself so I wouldn’t forget them. (Yes, I did have a notebook in my bag
but I didn’t think the dentist would appreciate me stopping his work so I could
get on with mine.)
I can’t truthfully say I was oblivious to what was happening in my
mouth, but having something more important to concentrate on certainly lessened
the anxiety. I was almost sorry when the treatment was over. Another two
minutes and I’d have been writing THE END.
As soon as I was back in
the real world of course, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough!
Do you have any practical uses for fiction?
