I write fiction, also known in our household as making up stories. I put thoughts in a character’s head and let him or her spit out words that might or might not be true. Readers could latch onto the first part of “The truth is what we say it is. Or is it?” title and believe a passage is true.
But is it? How is a reader to know the difference? And why on earth would a writer cast such doubt? It’s all about perception and interpretation, just like real life. We all process things differently, depending on o
ur past experiences, our hopes, our tolerance levels. A woman who has dreamed of a life with a husband and children, maybe a dog or two, might refuse to accept her husband’s infidelity…and when she’s thinking about the hotel receipt she doesn’t recognize, she can’t process the truth, at least not yet…so she believes what he tells her because she can’t not believe it…not yet.
This happens in several of my books, but especially in Pulling Home, Book One of That Second Chance series, and the prequel to A Family Affair: The Promise.
There’s what characters believe and let readers believe, and then there’s the truth. I won’t write more because you just might want to find out the real truth yourself.
Happy Reading!
Mary
