tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post6848247157144542268..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: Why Fiction?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-80350380992873843862011-04-22T17:07:14.559-05:002011-04-22T17:07:14.559-05:00Great post - For me, reading fiction (and especial...Great post - For me, reading fiction (and especially writing it) offers an opportunity to enter a situation I'd be unlikely to encounter in real life and to consider the consequences of various reactions. <br />Unlikely I'll ever have a gun trained on someone, their life in my hands and need to decide when and/or if shooting someone is ever justifiable. But it's interesting to think about...<br />And, to John's point, interesting to stand in another person's shoes (particularly someone with a different world view).<br />Tanis MallowAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-39539883123037900712011-04-22T15:36:14.344-05:002011-04-22T15:36:14.344-05:00"To figure out the world," which, as you..."To figure out the world," which, as you say, must sometimes be done indirectly. <br /><br />Does no fiction guy think the Iliad and Odyssey are objective reportage? People have been telling stories since we had language to tell them, even when mere survival took a lot more effort than it does now.Al Tucherhttp://alberttucher.writersresidence.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-69620131678994757312011-04-22T13:12:17.773-05:002011-04-22T13:12:17.773-05:00Excellent post, and you didn't lecture too muc...Excellent post, and you didn't lecture too much. I didn't feel like you were wagging your finger at me!**<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />**trying not to be a hypocrite on the day after my post.Dave Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10185814518997114591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-3037149630969733812011-04-22T12:09:15.661-05:002011-04-22T12:09:15.661-05:00Fiction is for when the truth hurts too much to be...Fiction is for when the truth hurts too much to bear repeating.<br /><br />Fiction is when the names have been changed to protect the innocent, or the guilty, for that matter. <br /><br />Fiction is for learning by experience without dying or going to jail.<br /><br />Fiction is a plane ticket to anywhere for the cost of a paperback.<br /><br />Great post. I learned to love nearby NYC through Lawrence Block. I visited Louisiana many times thanks to James Lee Burke, and met my Louisiana wife in the city. And I'm writing about both.Thomas Pluckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17008022962076648740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-14034605265811625712011-04-22T10:36:02.172-05:002011-04-22T10:36:02.172-05:00Great topic. It reminds me of the scene in the mov...Great topic. It reminds me of the scene in the movie Sideways when Miles is told by his buddy's fiance's dad that "There's so many interesting real things to learn in the world so why bother with fiction." I'm butchering the quote a bit, but Miles shies off and says that he's sort of writing a little of non-fiction and non-fiction.<br /><br />Naomi I liked your point about asking The Guy if he watches movies or documentaries.Paper Cuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17405431439103622102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-72387024952982740152011-04-22T10:33:39.706-05:002011-04-22T10:33:39.706-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Paper Cuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17405431439103622102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-72749317041732136542011-04-22T10:02:26.040-05:002011-04-22T10:02:26.040-05:00Catcher in the Rye is a good example, but likely t...<i>Catcher in the Rye</i> is a good example, but likely too subtle for the no fiction guys.<br /><br />And also, as Naomi points out, it combines entertainment and education - it's just the lesson it teaches about hypocrisy would undermine no fiction guy's worldview too much.<br /><br />Which brings us to another reason people read fiction (or watch movies or TV) - to have their worldview confirmed. Which could be the opposite of education if that worldview isn't entirely accurate.<br /><br />Something no fiction guy is actually scared to find out, so he just avoids the possibility altogether.John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-59112156702944659422011-04-22T09:07:32.241-05:002011-04-22T09:07:32.241-05:00Declan, I haven't been able to persuade anyone...Declan, I haven't been able to persuade anyone to make a blog style change for easier reading. So. Go to Readability.com, and bookmark the tool. Here's how easy it works. You're on a site not easy to read, you just click that tool and a second later, the page is cleaned up, the color adjusted, and reading is soooo easy. (Hat tip to Michael Alatorre; he saved my vision.)<br /><br />Now, to Russel: Next time you meet That Guy, ask him if he watches movies and if so, are they all documentaries? Bet not.<br /><br />Richard Bach once wrote that humans only ever do anything for one of two reasons: To be entertained or to be educated. Sometimes those reasons are combined. Fiction does that for me.Naomi Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08005429772070247806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-48862766413003054712011-04-22T08:28:22.566-05:002011-04-22T08:28:22.566-05:00Yet another terrific DSD post. Yet another terrifi...Yet another terrific DSD post. Yet another terrific DSD post I couldn't actually finish because of the white-on-black design. Folks? There's a very good reason white-on-black is a style no-no, and it's that the human eye isn't built to absorb it. <br /><br />Any chance of a different colour set-up? <br /><br />Cheers, DecDeclan Burkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14322645323239292406noreply@blogger.com