Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Fictitious or not ...


The other day I was immersed in my novel and pointedly ignoring everything around me , when ( as usual ) a head popped up , and was like “What you reading ?”
I showed the title , gave my lost/misty eyed expression . He still stood there ..
“fiction , huh ? “ ( condescending voice )

Which brings us to the problem , is fiction to be looked down upon .
I say , no !
Now ,look at it this way … you have an idea , suppose “naari shakti” ( woman power) .
( yeah yeah …as if they need more power ;-D )
Now , you can write an essay on it ..collect facts , data , statistics or simply write down your thoughts . It will become a book . Congrats !
But then , who’ll read it ? Let’s say 10% of  the intellectual ( or more likely the “pseudo” intellectual crowd ) . After that , it will probably be in a corner somewhere ,where children will pick it up when they have to make a school project on Indira Gandhi or Mother Teresa .
( Or maybe Sarah Paulin , hopefully ;-) )
OR OR OR you can write a story out of it . Add a bit of masala , organic seasoning , a lil’ tadka and present it .
It will SELL ! plus , your ideas will get across more effectively !
Isn’t that the point of writing ? To get your thoughts across …. ( or is it ? )

Actually , writing fiction is more difficult !
It’s easy to pen down your thoughts exactly as they come . But to formulate it into a story , make characters , design situations … need a wee bit of creativity there beta !
It’s exactly the difference between a movie and a documentary !
(Imagine watching a documentary on Hercules when you can have Brad Pitt in a skirt ;-))

Let’s not say that non-fiction books are inferior in any way . They are invaluable , but the power of fiction is not to be undermined too .
So , the next time you see someone with a novel in hand , instead of some heavy duty philosophy or one of those "self-help" books . Do not sneer …
For in the end , isn’t this entire world around us …nothing , but fiction :-D

( wah wah …admire the philosophical deep touch in the end ! )

4 comments:

  1. seriously man!! ppl think reading fiction is for tots! u're a nimrod if u haven't got a stiff bar of seriousness up urs and can still prance around lyk a carefree buffoon instead of sipping tea and discussing the way japan is gonna melt...

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  2. my god...the closing line, master...kya baat hain:-)
    and i absolutely hate the 'self help' books...complete waste of time and energy.

    fiction at least manages to transport you to another world...escape maybe...yet comforting!

    so next time anyone looks down at a fiction book..take no notice my friend..read on:-)

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  3. @prato - nailed it mate ! here's a cup of bull stool forr the 'pseudo' serious people ;-)

    @suruchi - I won't , trust me . Hum happie happie....duniya gayi martni lene :-D

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