Has Anyone Given Up Fiction?

[Murphy]

I'm thinking about giving up fiction.
I'm worried that a lot of my assumptions about the world are based on films I've seen or books I've read. This ultimately damages my experience of the world because I'm trying to make the real world fit into my fictional model.

I do really enjoy fiction but I'm starting to think it could be really bad for me.

For example how many children grow up thinking that they all they need is self belief to become a famous singer? They can't understand it when they fail.

Anyone interested in doing this challenge with me?

[magi13]

fiction is important, not because that it is a means of escapism, but the imagination is the root of all wisdom, creation and knowledge. Without that imagination, which is fiction we cannot have an inkling or a form of the things we wish to invent, innovate or improvise.

for example, star trek - the communicators were a basis for cell phones.

cars, planes and so on and so forth. when people use their imagination they achieve things.

when a person is faced with tragedy or pain, it is a means for him or her to learn. just because something is negative that doesn't mean it is worthless. when met with failure, we are being build up to be stronger and having faced it once, we can face it better the next time.

pain/failure and tragedy is the mother of experience. so long as we don't give up we will be okay. provided we are honest with ourselves.

positive thinking such as a goal is important too, when someone decides to be a dancer/singer and fails, he/she can reassess the situation to improve or move on.

Each experience we have is important, and we should be thankful we experience them, no matter how scary, painful or depraving they are. Stomach it, move on. Life is absurd after all.

[JaredR]

Life without fiction? I can't imagine.

[bluedragon]

I suspect there could be some real benefits in giving up fiction (or in never having known fiction, but unfortunately, this is no longer an option for most of us). It's true that I have many dreams and aspirations based upon what I have seen in movies, but it's also true that I haven't yet acted upon any of them (except maybe visiting America partly because I saw Sex and the City). But seeing Blood Diamond didn't yet make me visit Africa and participate in a humanitarian mission, watching Star Trek hasn't yet motivated me to become an airplane pilot or something, and watching Medium hasn't yet made me start working on my psychic skills. As far as I can see, those movies only dissipate my focus in 1000 directions and delight me with interesting characters and attitudes and situations, but they don't help me implement those attributes in my own life. However, I don't feel that I am ready to give up fiction yet, I just like it so much and I am not sure I understand the negative effects it has on me. I'm also not sure I can totally rule out the possible benefits.

[Andrew Gubb]

I reckon say a year without fiction could be an incredible experience. It can become a form of escapism. Myself, I've been adventuring so much right now that I haven't been into almost any fiction on any medium for months (I'm reading "Homage to Catalonia" but that is a real-life account. The rest of my books are spirituality and diet information).

Trashy books that are just consumerism are no good for anyone, but I think that real fiction is designed to reflect reality and moreover the author's inner world in a way that just can't be done in any other way. "Lord of the rings" is a good example - that thing is laden with spirituality and wonder at the beauty and mystery of existance.

As with any thing, skip the 99% trash, go for the 1% gold, and look for balance.

[runningbird]

I think fiction is most important because it helps discover archetypes within ourselves...the "hero" within. This is what the Greek myths were for; not to be taken literally in some fundamentalist "Adam and Eve" sense.

That said, I think most fiction is garbage, or at least more distraction than compelling material (i.e. Dean Koontz, John Grisham).

If you read something like Siddhartha by Hesse, there's no question that it was written to connect the reader to a certain part of his inner world.

[Brutha]

Read better fiction

Additionally you should be aware that the so called non-fiction also tells story about reality that aren't necessarily true.
Could it be that fiction reveals truth while nonfiction is a harbor for the liar? Could it be that fables and stories are closer to the truth than is the thoroughly fact-checked ABC News?
Nassim Taleb

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by Brutha;308779Additionally you should be aware that the so called non-fiction also tells story about reality that aren't necessarily true.
[i

Could it be that fiction reveals truth while nonfiction is a harbor for the liar? Could it be that fables and stories are closer to the truth than is the thoroughly fact-checked ABC News?[/i]

things that make you say hmmm

[evacorges]

that is assuming that books claiming to be non-fiction are indeed true.

Truth is much like beauty as in the importance the eye of the beholder plays in discovering it.

One mans truth is another mans fiction. Have you ever talked to both sides of a passionate disagreement? often both are plausible.

hiding from fiction is going to be a lot harder than it looks.

[openeyes]

For years I've mostly read non fiction, having seen fiction as largely escapism and not contributing much to my worldly understanding, but lately I've found certain books worthwhile for the imagination, such as works by Robert Heinlein, Orson Scott Card (the Ender series), Lord of the Rings, and now my girlfriend is recommending Dune. A lot of science fiction can be good. I still mostly read non fiction, watch TED talks and get various documentaries via netflix, but a bit of fiction has been a nice change. At times fiction can be a more effective means of getting one's message across than nonfiction. Just be sure it's a message you want to receive.

[bbdream8]

Originally Posted by Murphy

I'm thinking about giving up fiction.
I'm worried that a lot of my assumptions about the world are based on films I've seen or books I've read. This ultimately damages my experience of the world because I'm trying to make the real world fit into my fictional model.

I do really enjoy fiction but I'm starting to think it could be really bad for me.

For example how many children grow up thinking that they all they need is self belief to become a famous singer? They can't understand it when they fail.

Anyone interested in doing this challenge with me?

I had stopped reading fiction for a long time but I am thinking of going back into it because it may help me unwind after a day of work.

Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger

[Trustme]

work hard - play hard
I think it's a myth that you have to work 18 hours a day to be successful. The most successful people I know spend enormous amounts of time with stuff like training for a triathlon or reading literature, doing sports or some other activity they enjoy. If you like fiction I don't see any reason to give it up.

A little trick from the geek in me (I can't help it sorry). I usually read 3 to 4 books at a time. Mostly non-fiction stuff about politics, business, finance, biographies etc. I have a small list of these books and I add one fiction book - nothing too intellectual, something I enjoy reading. When I read in one of the books - I tick it off on my list. I am not allowed to read in it until I ticked off all others. Than the round starts again. For me the fiction (leisure) book is some kind of motor to get my other books read.

Just some thoughts from my side. Take care.
TM

[newmark]

I gave up fiction for several years because I stopped enjoying it. Now I enjoy it again, but see it, and the intentions of the writers, in a different way.
But giving up if you still have the feeling to watch or read it seems like a bad idea.

[Eric Roosevelt]

Most people need a healthy dose of both fiction and realism.

Fiction stimulates the imagination.

Understanding the real world helps you apply that imagination to something practical.

[lasti]

We're creating fiction all the time in our heads. How do you want to give that up?

[pyrogen]

One way I fit in reading with a busy schedule, is by not *reading* all of my books. I listen to audiobooks while walking my dog and doing exercise. Since my dog needs about 3 hours a day of outside time, this gives me a lot of book time.

I've had a lot of revelations that were important to me, by reading fiction; I really credit one book in particular with opening me up to love at one point in my life and opening the way for me to get with my ex. No, I don't have the typical monolithic American idea that just because a love isn't forever, means it wasn't important.

Sometimes by reading about something that happens in a book, I realize that there is something in my life that I want more of, too.

[advancedatheist]

Originally Posted by Murphy

I'm thinking about giving up fiction.
I'm worried that a lot of my assumptions about the world are based on films I've seen or books I've read. This ultimately damages my experience of the world because I'm trying to make the real world fit into my fictional model.

I've known adult men who've spent their lives reading science fiction, fantasy and horror novels or comic books (they don't fool anyone by calling them "graphic novels"); playing computer games; and watching science fiction, fantasy and horror movies and TV shows.

The consumption of these media hasn't served them well in practical life, for the most part.

By contrast, you might learn something useful by reading the biographies of accomplished individuals. They show you what kinds of lives can exist at the current boundaries of the human envelope.

[CoolBee]

I'm inclined to agree with Brutha and Evacorges.

What you read or see or hear as 'non-fiction' has gone through someone else's filters, biases and so on and so forth.

Its particularly interesting here in Egypt to watch the news as presented by BBC World, Al Jazeera, CNN, Euronews - things that are deemed important in one and not another, the deliberate attempt to mould minds by using very handy collocation phrases to embed into your brain a particular world view - eg add the words "rogue state" to every single mention of your bogeyman state of choice - Iran, Syria, wherever, until it trips off the tongue very smoothly reprogamming your mind! The word "Devout" is only ever attached to "Roman Catholic" or "Muslim" - who knew you might get "devout protestants" or "devout Hindus" or whatever! In the UK, the command "property ladder" is embedded into all "right-thinking people". You MUST want a bigger, more expensive property - the nation bemourns the fact that young couples "cannot afford a foot on the property ladder".

Listen to the news with fresh ears and see what commands are being issued direct to to your subconscious!

Fiction can stimulate the imagination and creativity, you can find models of behaviour or see other ways of dealing with situations, or as in early Star Trek stories, ways of tackling social issues but by setting it in the future and among aliens, not getting people's prejudices in the way.

[Remiel]

The question is, what is fiction costing you?

I think that we all have at least one area in our lives that isn't altogether good. It could be fiction, golf, tv, or computer games. For me it was computer games. I'm on the 3rd day of giving up solo gaming for a week and it has been incredibly hard. Are video games bad? No, not in the purest sense. Are they bad for me? Yes. Why? Because I spend too much time on them.

Recently I've been doing fiction books and legos to unwind instead of video games. I believe we should all step outside of our comfort zones once in a while, shouldn't we?

[Cristal Lilly]

Originally Posted by runningbird

That said, I think most fiction is garbage, or at least more distraction than compelling material (i.e. Dean Koontz, John Grisham).

I very strongly disagree about dean koontz.
his works have reminded me of the gentler side of human nature, power of perseverance and humility (odd thomas series), inspired me to not accept physical limitations or being singled out as a cop out for not enjoying life (fear nothing)

and there's a beautiful side story in fear nothing about toby, a boy with down syndrome whose father desperately wants to 'fix' him into being normal out of his love for his son, when in fact toby is perfect the way he is. it shows you the importance of acceptance of what is, and that by not doing so the father only hurt himself and robbed himself of the experience of enjoying his perfect son.

there are other stories of human nature, cases for how things in life aren't black and white, the beatiful compassion a human being is capable of, not to mention all the lovely descriptions of scenery that can only but enrich your imagination. even einstein points out how imagination is one of the most valuable tools you can ever have.
also the brain doesn't make all that different emotional responses if you have an actual memory of something, have imagined something, or are seeing something, so reading a wonderful description of a starry summer night on the beach with the sound of waves splashing by your feet can actually have physical benefits for your body.

there's also what it does for your vocabulary, because koontz uses a vast amount of words that are wonderful and so rarely heard when I hear native speakers of english actually talk, yet they lack the pretentious and overbearing tone of one anne rice.
if you're a social being (and you're human so you are), being eloquent is a great tool for self expression towards yourself and others, clarifying intentions, feelings, etc, and it is definitely more efficient when you have the exact word you mean as opposed to 'it's like this, but with this and that and that added, but not too much, and with this tone'.

this is also my case for the rest of fiction.

I'd like to add to that list an exposure to the inner workings of another culture, or another time, exposure to different point of views (which only opens one's mind, if you ask me), personal experiences of another human being described so intimately as you can rarely find by talking due to our social conventions, valuable insights into philosophy and psychology (cause one is more likely to be open when under protection of fictional characters), or even just a good laugh (not to be underestimated)

I understand that other people who write how fiction is useless do not take away the same things from it that I do, but please people, it doesn't have to mean the book/author/genre is universally the way you perceived it. hell, for me the experiences even change with rereading it at different stages in life.

even without big name dropping like dostoyevsky, dante or shakespeare, even with just limiting fiction to contemporary writers like say terry pratchett, I strongly believe there is a big value that you can (but don't necessarily have to) derive from it.

so quit your hating

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Murphy

I'm worried that a lot of my assumptions about the world are based on films I've seen or books I've read. This ultimately damages my experience of the world because I'm trying to make the real world fit into my fictional model.

I think you might get better, more far-reaching results if you focus on what you want -- like living authentically and at cause (which would naturally free you of trying to make the real world fit into a model built by someone else), regardless of external circumstances.

I do really enjoy fiction but I'm starting to think it could be really bad for me.

For example how many children grow up thinking that they all they need is self belief to become a famous singer? They can't understand it when they fail.

If you want to avoid being exposed to beliefs that don't work well for you, it's going to take a lot more than just avoiding fiction! Again, I think it would be more effective to take on a more powerful way of being, and let the external chips fall where they may. But if giving up fiction helps give you a boost in that, it may be a good idea.

Anyone interested in doing this challenge with me?

Not me. I love fiction -- movies, too.

Cristal Lilly, you put it all so well!