In Praise of Writing/Reading Fiction

Normally, on this day I would find a way to incorporate Earth, Wnid, and Fire's "September" into my discussion given the date, but I felt inspired to discuss another issue - the benefits of fiction. So for now, let's set aside the 21st day of September and talk about the value of fiction for writers and readers alike.

Now, it goes as no secret that a lot of writers feel drawn to fiction merely as a form of creative escapism. Why write about the world you already know when you can invent another space entirely and play in that sandbox instead? It goes without saying that there's a real adventure in this form of exploration, and as a writer it gives us the luxury of not just exploring but creating the space we adventure into. This is probably the most valuable skill we learn when writing fiction - world-building. If we explore any of the major fiction genres - alt-history, sci-fi, sword-and-sorcery, steampunk, etc. - we have to go through the elaborate exercise of creating the world our story exists in. More to the point, we have to communicate this to the reader in narrative fashion. Doing a big info dump is one way, but not very popular when it comes to storytelling. Therefore, this form of fiction writing forces us to show enough of the world to let the reader know where they are any any new groundrules, all while moving the story forward. The more out-there genres require ever-more-delicate techniques, but these are things that raise our talent to the next level.

Does this count if your fiction is just a present-day story about a person in the world doing a bunch of things that didn't actually happen? In this case, you are burdened with showing people the parts of a world they know and highlighting things the reader might not ordinarily appreciate. It's not world-building but world-showcasing. If my fictional main character is a skilled mechanic, I want to present very particular details and actions of a world the reader might not appreciate on their own. This is usually where some research is required, because even though it's fiction, it's grounded in the real world and needs to have that real texture. Once that feeling of genuine actions comes through, the reader loses the thought about something being fiction and instead embraces the story that never really happened.

And this is where we come to the reading side of fiction and its importance. I know plenty of people who have very little interest in reading fiction, sometimes if only because stories that didn't actually happen have very little appeal to them. That's understandable, but there's an interesting effect that comes from reading fiction which doesn't show up with strict consumers of non-fiction. People who explore fiction are forced to open up their mind beyond its normal constraints, whether it be context, genre, or the concepts presented. More importantly, when reading fiction, the reader has to make up their own mind about the characters presented without preexisting knowledge or biases. This creates a degree of empathy within the reader than often leaks into real life as they become used to seeing stories from other people's perspectives. This renewed openness to the world around them is strengthened by exploring fiction, and in my opnion, we could use a little more empathy these days.

I don't expect writers to change their preference of what they create simply because of this post. However, I would rather state it in public in hopes of people trying something new. And while you're at it, give a listen to "September" if you haven't yet.