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 ! )