This morning, my husband had an epiphany. I had made some comment about how he hadn't taken the garbage out once the whole time we've lived in this house (not entirely true, but close - though it's not his fault...he just hasn't been home on trash day in a while...though of course I left that bit out ;-D ) and then a short while later made some other comment about how in 10 years of marriage, I'd never seen him not put salt on something he was eating.
He sat there for a second and I could literally see the light bulb go on over his head. He grinned at me and said, "I just figured it out. Writers exaggerate."
I just broke down laughing.
Do writers exaggerate? Um yeah...it's sort of in our job description, at least if you write fiction (exaggerating is sort of a major no-no in non-fiction).
However, I do try not to exaggerate too much in my real life. But you know what? That is sooo much easier said than done. After I sat and thought about it for a minute, I realized I really do exaggerate, a lot. I'm not just cold, I'm freezing to death. The bookcase I put together wasn't difficult, putting it together required a degree in rocket science. My kids aren't irritating me a little, they are driving me insane :D I didn't wake up three times with my daughter in the middle of the night, I was up ALL NIGHT LONG.
For a second, I felt a little bad about this. I'm an honest person. I mean, I have a really hard time lying. In fact, I tend to giggle a bit when I try to do it and my face turns red. But after a bit more reflection, I decided that exaggerating the regular occurrences in my life isn't a bad thing. Like I said, I'm honest. I don't exaggerate on my taxes or in any serious aspects of life.
But when it comes to describing my mood or the more routine things going on, yeah, I like to spice it up a little :) Why not? It makes things more fun, more interesting. There might be 8 inches of snow in my front yard, but darn it, if I'm going to bother mentioning it, then we are BURIED. Are there a few toys on the floor? Nope. The house is DESTROYED. Am I having a bit of a bad hair day? Not at all. My hair is so horrible I'm just going to shave my head :D
So how about you, my fine writer friends? Do you tend to exaggerate? Or do you just call it exactly as you see it?
10 comments:
Exaggerate. What fun is it to be grounded in reality.
Oh, I exaggerate everything. Most of the time. Okay, not all the time. :)
I think I've said the same things you've listed, almost word for word, countless times. The truth is so boring. ;)
That's interesting. I'd never thought about it before because I consider myself an honest person too, but you're right. I exaggerate. Interesting. I think I'm going to go over-analyze this a bit because, hey, that's what I do!
lol ooo over analyzing is a good one :D a post for another day ;D
I would never exaggerate. Never. Not once.... Okay, I do :)
I try not to exaggerate, but I do. Mostly learnt it off my mum. :) But when I think about it, if the other person doesn't know that you're exaggerating, it's like telling a lie. A white lie, but still a lie. Nevertheless, it can be fun and highly amusing. Say the time I told one of my siblings that there were still heaps of lollies left... when there were only 2. I ate them.
lol okay, that one is a little more like a white lie :D I tend to do it when I'm describing things, like the examples I used - so it's hopefully obvious that I'm just stretching things a bit :)
WOW. Your husband is a GENIUS! I never really got that about myself!
Me? An over-exaggerating drama queen? Nooo... Okay, maybe sometimes...a little...only when I want attention. DON'T JUDGE ME! *giggle* =D I think it's part of my creative nature.
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