In my view, all writing is fiction. that includes autobiography, history, news reporting and even such important publications as cookbooks It is not my intent to question dictionaries or encyclopedias although there does seem to be a certain fluidity to the use of some words and descriptions found therein. Nor would I question the self appointed arbiters of language who publish these tomes, someone has to determine the standard for the efficient communication and dissemination of concepts.
This is not to say that there may not be some truth in whatever appears on the written page or on TV, video or a computer screen but it would not be in the best interest of anyone to believe that the words or images truly reflectr actual occurrences. What we see, whether it is read or viewed on a screen is the fiction of an author who is reporting their view or opinion of an incident at a specific point in time. It is more likely that will be found in the possibility of the occurence than the reporting of it. To paraphrase the Duchess of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, “Everything’s got a truth if only you can find it.”
Perhaps it would be more acceptable to use a less inclusive term than the word fiction, one that holds fewer negative connotations. Consider the simple word “story”; we might all suppose that there could be some truth in a story but we do not have believe it is an absolute or complete truth. Perhaps that is the crux of the matter; is there any absolute or complete truth? It is not my intent to answer the question of whether God exists or if my God is better than your God OR if there is any answer to the overarching question of why anything exists.
My point is to simply say that any story I may tell is likely to contain some amount of both fact and fiction. Even I have trouble detecting how much of each there might be and my stories are not meant to lead the wretched heathen to the light but only to examine the human condition, often in a humorous or sardonic way. I would be pleased if you enjoy reading what I write here as much as I enjoy writing it.
Negotiating Life 