Fiction comes calling; tomorrow I answer in poetry

Yesterday I was overcome with this urge to start some fiction of my own. As a rule, I am seriously invested in reality and gravity; perhaps my existential coming-of-age and my vocation of obsequies serve as the pre-requisites for my "serious as a heart attack" tendencies. Within the past few days, I've been tempted to entertain some escapism from my non-fiction life. These temptations have come from two notable sources.

Firstly, Annie Kerr, author of the blog Ink haven, left a comment in which she suggested the development of a story from a line from the posted conversation, "Altered." Annie made no mention of fiction, non- or otherwise, but my mind naturally craved the opportunity to create fiction out of a real-time conversation. Thanks for the comment, Annie. I'll keep it in mind as inspiration for future posts.

Secondly, I came across the New York Times: Paper Cuts article titled "Stray Questions for Thomas Lynch." In this article, Lynch, who has usually produced works of poetry and non-fiction, discusses his recent affair with fiction. Of it, Lynch divulges: "Living in fiction is very seductive—the creation and destruction of characters, the hoops we make to make them jump through en route to their little dénouements—a fetching and terrible enterprise." I think I find this notion particularly intriguing because I am, after all, looking to be seduced. Fictional escapism sounds quite lovely.

Lynch acknowledges his true love: "Poems are the necessary counterbalance: all metaphor and formal language intrigues—the art of subtraction and careful counting—the reading and writing of them are essential practices." He believes in the seduction of fiction and the sobering by poetry. And so I want also to believe.