I've been thinking lately, like I usually do, about life imitating fiction. Actually, fiction is supposed to imitate life, but sometimes life is so weird and strange, that if I were to write a fiction story about life, people would call it unrealistic.
Grasping conflict seems to elude me at times. But today and yesterday I was thinking about people and how they seem kind of stuck and unhappy, and if I could shake them like a rag doll and shout, "Snap out of it!" how much better off they'd be. Then I thought about it some more and realized that people do not change because they don't want to. Staying in the same place, holding onto the same perceptions or stagnating in the same circumstances for years serves that person(s) in some way. It might be too uncomfortable for them to make a change than to keep things unchanging, and no matter how much I think they would be better off to embrace change, maybe they would disagree.
After all, I am not them, I am me, and I am the only person inside my head. And I cannot get inside their heads and know what they are thinking and feeling. Their limitations serve some hidden purpose that I am not privy to.
But when I write a character, I can be that person and be inside that person's head, even if it is only for a little while. And I can make that person stagnate for a while, and then, I can make them change. I guess the trick would be to make the person courageous enough to cast off old beliefs and fears, or by external circumstances force a change in perception or situation on them. Sometimes writing is so much easier than real life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Just thinking how nothing ever remains the same. The only constant thing about living is that everything changes. If what is here now might be gone tomorrow, then desire to keep everything exactly the same is futile. It just isn't going to work. You can't just assume it's always going to be there. People grow, animals die, the day turns to night, all is in flux. Even letters carved in stone will eventually fade by time, wind and water. If I can't keep it, why am I so attached? And if I want to stay attached, that means I have to adapt, to work on my relationships, to keep my body and mind healthy. I can't assume they will just be while I sit on my ass.