Stranger Than Fiction
For those of you who don’t know, I live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. It’s a seven city area that includes Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Hampton among others. Around 9:45 last Sunday night, I was fussing at the kiddo that she was late to bed when we heard a loud clap of what I thought was thunder through the open windows. It didn’t even occur to me that rain wasn’t in the forecast, there had been no lightening, no more thunder followed and drops never came. I went to bed thinking nothing of it.
But the next morning the first thing I heard on the radio was that the boom of the night before wasn’t thunder at all. It was a meteor. That’s right, a meteor fell over Hampton Roads. I know, right? Who’d believe this stuff really happens? But the fact that it was a meteor isn’t nearly as strange as the fact that no one is talking about it. I mean, shouldn’t this have made the national news? Shouldn’t we still be talking about it? Shouldn’t there have been some kind of debris or something? Or better yet, warning?!
People from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the Outer Banks of North Carolina have claimed seeing a ball of fire shoot across the sky. The boom was so loud in my area people complained it knocked pictures off their walls. Since I live within miles of a jet base, we’re used to noise in the sky but some even thought a jet had crashed. Thankfully, that was not the case.
My point is, if I wrote a story that had a meteor crashing down in a large metropolitan area, it would fall squarely into the paranormal fiction category. Especially if not a bit of rock is found, and no one digs to find out where it really went. Better yet, if I wrote the event as a non-event and didn’t even hint at a cover up, readers would never believe it.
The irony of the meteor falling when it did was that kiddo and I had gone to see Monsters vs. Aliens the day before, which just happens to begin with a meteor crashing to Earth squarely on top of the heroine and turning her into the 50 foot woman. So far, I haven’t seen any 50 feet women walking around town, or knocking over office buildings, so I think we may be safe on that front.
My question is, how much fiction is in fiction? What reality would you never fall for and what reality would you never want to read in a Romance? And just for fun, what’s the best line anyone’s ever said to you in real life that you’d swear was right out of a work of fiction?
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41 comments:
Sounds as though that one landed in the sea (most do), otherwise there would be zillions of scientists swarming to take a look and get samples.
There are masses of meteors hurtling through space, most of the smaller ones, on impact trajectories, burn up in the atmosphere, but the worry is that a really big one will hit the earth. Remember that one theory for the extinction of the dinosaurs involves a very large meteor strike, so we may actually owe our existence to them. They could just as easily wipe us all out!
There is constant monitoring to detect such missiles well in advance and schemes for deflecting them if on a collision course. For example nuclear explosions might be used to deflect them when far enough out.
Some ideas for the origin of life on earth involve molecules arriving from space, possibly on meteors, so they do have a romantic side.
We live in a balanced world though, and to every pro there may be a con. Meteors could bring deadly viruses from the depths of space.
Your house insurance may include 'acts of god' but I bet it doesn't specifically include being flattened by a meteor or killed by a space virus! :wink:
In case anyone is worried, the probability of lethal impact in our lifetime should be extremely small. I'm more worried by melting ice caps....but thats another story.
Natural phenomena always fascinate me Terri...probably why I like science! :D
Trust Q to make me feel smarter on a Monday morning!
I realized as I thought about your question I accept pretty much everything in fiction (except the torture and death of children). I've used some edgy, uncomfortable stuff in my own writing. But I read for romance for a reason---no matter how much crap the characters go through, they get their HEA.
What would I never fall for? Probably a plot involving the actual fakin' of the moon mission. But I'm not sure if that's because I just wouldn't ever want it presented in a fashion too convincing!
Otherwise, I be fairly open to possibilities. There is more to heaven and earth...
But I agree wit' Maggie...the torture of kids or pets isn't somethin' I want ta read. Realizin' such things move a story, I accept. But don't present it ta me in detail.
Ain't if funny how we jus' slot such adventures inta somethin' understandable? A meteor? Nah, it were the guns on the base, a clap a' thunder... We be adaptable beings, otherwise we be shakin' at every shadow on the wall!
The best line anyone’s ever said to me in real life that I’d swear was right out of a work of fiction:
The guy who broke up with me because we "come from different economic backgrounds." His being worse than mine, actually, so not like he thought I was a gold digger—and come to think of it, even in reality that was a fiction. I'm pretty sure that wasn't the real reason, because I know who was.
(She later apologized to me; he never did. But with all the crap I endured from him, I'm glad he hasn't tried to apologize or ever speak to me again. I'd probably spit in his face.)
Q - I know it's possible and maybe even plausible for a meteor to hit. And I also know they usually hit in water or unpopulated areas. (Which seems strangely coincidental to me.) But this all just seemed so strange.
First we were told it was a meteor that exploded before it hit anything and that's what we heard. Then we were told it was not a meteor and was actually part of a Russian rocket falling back to Earth. Then they changed the story again and said it was a meteor the size of a basketball and what we heard was the sonic boom. What totally amazed me is that no one has ever mentioned impact or even a single piece of something being found (though I know *they* don't always tell us everything) and some observatory people around here actually said "we don't track meteors" as if these giant space rocks are totally insignificant. It's the lack of interest and info that just seems odd to me.
Maggie - I know like me you've had a stint of having a hard time finding good reading material in the last few months. Were your issues with the books anything like improbable situations or characters behaving out of character? And I'm thinking some of the non-Romance readers actually having a problem believing the HEA can happen. LOL! Those poor souls....
Chance - I've heard that fake moon landing thing a few times but I think that might be the silliest of the conspiracy theories. I admit there's something to some of the stuff, but not that one. Then again, I wasn't alive when that all went down. :)
And it never would have occured to me that the noise was anything other than thunder. I didn't even get up and look out the window. Now I wonder what I might have seen!
Jordan - Sometimes it's better that they NOT try to apologize. For years I wanted me ex to admit he cheated but he never will. And now I could give two shits. LOL! The last dude was a total ass and I'd kind of like for him to admit it, but then I prefer to pretend he doesn't exist (which I managed to do last weekend at the mall) so that one's better left where it is.
I hear ya. I'd rather him think I was dead (good for you at the mall!).
I was pretty proud of myself. LOL! No running to hide behind a plant but no heart ripping feelings either. The annoyance is pretty much all that's left. :)
Now see, that would make a great scene in a book. But might not be the best situation to have to live through. LOL!
Once when I was young *mama cover your eyes* I was out after hours at Finger Lakes (I kid you not, that's the name of the park) and I was with a bunch of people dipping in their skivvies. It was late, probably 2 or 3 am and all of the sudden the sky lit up like mid afternoon. This big ball of fire shot across the sky. It was the most mesmorizing thing I've ever seen. Eventually I want to write that into something. LOL
I will have to put more thought into the line. I've got to get some caffeine in me. I will be back. DR is out of the office until 10. Yay!
Woohoo! I almost ran into him at my sister's wedding while we were waiting for somebody to get there. He had the gall to stand there and try to socialize with my fam (who all hate him). My dad tried to get DH to tell him "I know who you are and I know what you did to her." Thankfully, DH realized that wasn't appropriate and (eventually) came to wait with me outside.
Sin - My boss is in Vegas all week (not that he's a problem when he's here) so it's going to be a nice laid back week for me. Or I hope so anyway.
Did you ever find out what the light was? I've seen a shooting star but only once I think. These things really do remind us there's a big universe out there and we are tiny little specks in it.
They always say you shouldn't put too much real life in your fiction. It's just too weird. And things in fiction have to make sense. Real life does not. :)
In fiction, I can't tolerate killing children, though I thought Lovely Bones was a great book, after I got past the first bit.
Jordan and I touched this week on coincidence in fiction as well, how much coincidence is too much. I think she's right. That coincidence in fiction is fine, as long as it makes sense. :)
I think ultimately as long as it makes sense and is believable, I'll accept pretty much anything. (Am I gullible? LOL!!)
Terri, my reading woes seem to be a combination of things---mostly because the books just aren't special in any way. The characters are just so---boring. The plots---boring. There's a lack of spark somewhere. Or maybe it's just me. :)
No, and this was a time before I actually paid attention to the news so I have no idea if anyone actually saw it other than us. I'd think it was a meteor, but I tend to think people notice that sort of thing, even out in the stix.
Marn - But what is believable? LOL! THAT is the question. I think coincidence is fine and almost necessary but it can't cross over into contrived or I get irritated. For my WIP, it's a coincidence that the hero just moved in across the hall from the heroine and then they find out, after they've had a few interesting run ins, that they have to work together. I'm hoping this all stays in coincidence and I manage not to cross over into contrived.
Sin - That sounds like a plausible explanation but then, you never know. LOL!
Maggie - I don't think it's just you. I've been off historicals for a while for that exact reason. With few exceptions, they feel like the same story over and over again.
Excuse me, I'm still trying to get over the fact that there was a meteor in Virginia. Holy crap! Too bad I wasn't outside, I totally could have seen it!
I'm a very gullible reader (well, I'm gullible in general, and that bleeds over to reading). I'm the one who always falls for the red hearings, and then is floored when the end is revealed. So I'll believe just about anything that's presented well.
The only thing I can think of off the top of my head was a book where there was an earthquake in London. Turns out that is possible (after I googled it), but still, it was so far out of the "norm" that I couldn't wrap my mind around it. (there were other implausible things going on, which I was trying to ignore, so when I got to the earthquake, that was just it *g*)
Hal - I was sure you were going to say you saw it too. Or at least heard about it. LOL! See, if they aren't even talking about it up there, doesn't that seem odd?
I must be less gullible because I'm always saying things like "Oh please" and "Get real" while reading or watching TV & movies. I hate to admit it but I'm growing more and more skeptical the older I get.
Hal, I'm with you. I'm a very gullible reader as well. Actually I'm gullible in real life, which is more problematic.
Real life vs Fiction. Pretty sure I wouldn't write a story about a farm--and I'd have all that background for it. I wouldn't write about deer season (and boy do the kooks come out at deer season!) I wouldn't write about fans who dress up as Harry Potter and go to book launches...
I probably would write about the real life phenomenan of basketball in a high school world...and how academics don't matter compared to athletics. THAT I think could be turned into a story.
What reality would I never want to read in a romance? How the popular girl always ends up with the popular guy--and the wallflower doesn't get anyone. I much prefer the fantasy where the wallflower wins the day, though I couldn't exactly name anyone I know of that that has actually worked for.
And what would I never believe? Chocolate in 1300s England.
But wouldn't you "want" to believe in chocolate for the 1300's England? Who knows how much that would have helped the situation? (Not that I know history much...but doesn't chocolate help anything?)
I'm fasting in prep for a medical precedure and need to go drool in private... I'll get my shamwow and clean up my mess later...
Damn, I'm hungry!
Ter - nope, nobody here is talking about it either. I looked up some news articles online, I'm loving all the scientists they interviewed saying basically, "Yeah, we really don't know anything." One actually said, "This is what makes science fun." LOL!
When it comes to reality we don't want in books - I avoid children dying/being tortured as well. And anything where a main character dies I usually avoid. I'm a sucker for a happy ending, so anything where that's not possible is usually no good for me *g*
Captain - You and your chocolate. I'm thinking you may have been the person who discovered chocolate in a former life and that's why you're so sensitive. LOL! And I never would have thought of you as gullible. Seriously?
Hal - Aren't the articles vague? How can an observatory say we don't watch for meteors so we didn't see it?! People who weren't looking for anything saw it with NO big telescopes!
And I'm with you guys on the children/animals suffering thing, but like Marn, I liked The Lovely Bones. And I don't actually have to have a HEA to enjoy a book, but it does help. :)
Oh, and I'm guessing few of us would want to read any character passing gas in a book. LOL! A romance anyway. A coworker stood at my desk last week and just let one slip out while we were talking. We both pretended it didn't happen. And thankfully it didn't smell. But it was very strange pretending like that.
Chance - So sorry you can't eat anything, especially chocolate. Kiddo and I hit the chocolate shop at Williamsburg this weekend and OMG those peanut butter smoothies are SO good.
This probably isn't helping you, is it? LOL!
I've lived long enough to see the impossible become possible in medicine and communication, so for the duration of a book or a series, I can certainly believe in alien races, intelligent dragons, and wizards with glasses. I routinely believe, against evidence to the contrary, that love stories have happy endings and amateur sleuths bring evil doers to justice. I do have a hard time believing casual visits to France during the Napoleonic wars, female spies in the Regency who speak six languages and are experts with pistol and rapier, and virginal heroines who experience earth-moving multiple orgasms.
Janga - "and virginal heroines who experience earth-moving multiple orgasms." - LMAO!! But wouldn't it be nice?
Janga - It is easier to accept all those things no one has ever proven do not exist but not the one thing we know to be a falsehood.
Hal - It would be nice if it happened even for those of us who have had many years practice. LOL!
Terrio! - Here! Here! Earth- moving virginal mulitple orgasms for everyone!
Done with the fast and I'm clean of any nasty things in my intestines. Yeah! Peanut butter/chocolate smoothies does sound nice. Oh, you just said peanut butter smoothie... Nope, must have chocolate. I believe in chocolate, in any situation.
No worries, Chance. The smoothies are covered in chocolate. I did buy some peanut butter fudge without the chocolate, but everything else was either truffle of some sort. Except the chocolate covered strawberries the kiddo ate.
I adore chocolate covered strawberries...
*drool (Dang, let me go fetch my shamwow...)
Sis didn't talk about the chocolate on her trip to Williamsburg. But she's a real heretic, doesn't get all frothy about chocolate...
First thing I got when I left the hospital was an Americano at Starbucks and a chocolate chip cookie... Tasted so good!
Right in Merchant's Square there's a shop that's nothing but candy and chocolate. Everything you can think of. You'd LOVE it.
I'm not a strawberry fan so I don't eat those. The good thing is they're pretty easy to make these days with the melted chocolate in a bowl you can buy ready made.
That is kind of strange, Terri. I think the opposite is happening to me - the older I get the more I believe (but then again, I'm like Hal and Hellie - very gullible). Like everyone is saying some of the stuff that has happened you just can't make up - conspiracy theories, assasinations, aliens, UFOs, cruelties between families and nations.
Anyway, I think the passing gas comment was hilarious. I don't think that would be very romantic but I could swear I did read it in a romance once. I guess the stuff that's got me rolling my eyes are bedroom gymnastics. They're writing stuff Nadia Comaneci couldn't perform in her heyday!
Irish - I'm sure you're a tougher nut than you give yourself credit for. And that is true about the acrobatics. I know for that up against the wall thing to work, the hero would have to be really strong and the heroine very slight, but to be honest, I just don't care. LOL! I'll take a good sexcapade against the wall anytime. (In books, obviously, as I'm not slight in any way and don't wish to kill anyone. *g*)
Ha! But we can make up some outrageous stuff, Irish! Aliens!? Sure. Doesn't mean it isn't true...but it could also be made up.
Hee, hee...I think it might be fun to run a contest of make-believe. What would you find impossible to believe? Can you write something that will challenge a reader to the max. (Other than a man who does laundry, dishes and vaccumes without expecting sainthood... We know that is impossible!)
Chance - I hate when anyone does something they should and expects a prize. My daughter made the Honor Roll and asked, "What are you going to get me?" I explained she had my love and affection and there would be no other prizes given as that's something she should do anyway.
I'm not a sci-fi fan, but versions of aliens are always kind of fun. I think it would be the ultimate irony if every other life form in the Universe looks just like us. And make up the same crazy stuff we do.
Hahahahaha! That would be classic!
Hey Terri,
My favorite line came from my husband, this attitude is one of the reasons I love him so much. We were talking with some friends about another friend going through a divorces because of her lying, cheating sack of $%&* husband who had the grass is always greener syndrome. My DH came out with the line "fertilize your own damn grass" I love it and I am so glad that is his take on marriage.
Hey Terri,
My favorite line came from my husband, this attitude is one of the reasons I love him so much. We were talking with some friends about another friend going through a divorce because of her lying, cheating sack of $%&* husband who had the grass is always greener syndrome. My DH came out with the line "fertilize your own damn grass" I love it and I am so glad that is his take on marriage.
Hey Beth! If only more men saw things that way. I know so many of these situations (including my own) where you just want to slap some sense into people. And it's not just the men but women do it too. The grass is almost NEVER greener. Except in my case, I found the better pastures after he wondered out of ours. LOL!
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