Time to get serious

So - I have gotten off my schedule altogether, but I am back at it and getting serious now. I am going to tackle some edgy topics and get in the swing of writing again. A few friends have really encouraged me - so here it goes. I welcome your comments and will attempt to respond as time permits.

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Reality and Fantasy.

So, I have been spending alot of time thinking about this in the last week, for reasons I will not share. Suffice to say that the topic has come up and I have used a fair amount of gray matter thinking about many related topics and ideas.

So, why is it that we spend so much time escaping reality all the while being scornful of those who live, want to live or enjoy escaping into the realm of fantasy. I mean really the entire point of fantasy is to escape reality - right? Let it also be said - that one man's/woman's fantasy is another's reality and vice versa. It is not a one size fits all proposition. I mean how dumb would that be - "This is going to be your fantasy!" Please! Like one size fits all T-Shirts - the reality is that that is a dumb idea - does not work - if you wear a size 2 or a size 12 - no way is a one size fits all T-shirt going to work and work well. So it makes sense that fantasy should come in shapes and sizes. Book, movies, TV, your own mind....you get the idea.

This came from a BLOG that I follow and I think she is right on the money.

Books come in variety of genres and so they should. I mean for all the visualizing I can do about John Wayne like cowboys - Western Novels really do not work for me. I also have a hard time with talking animals and very dry mysteries. Sometimes a "serious" work of fiction does it for me - but more often than not I am drawn to romance novels, suspense and spy novels, and recently I have dabbled in paranormal romance. Because hey, lets face it - it is an escape - it is fantasy and sometimes we just need a vacation from reality.

For example, after a long day or chasing 2 kids around, trying to figure out what the almost 2 year old wants but cannot exactly put into words, figure out where the car keys have gone, make three meals, clean up after three meals, chase down the missing socks from the laundry (where do they go - a mystery worth solving at a later date), organize a wide variety of things - from play dates to church potlucks, and so forth and so on - do I really want to curl up a night with a copy of "A Catcher in the Rye" or Catch-22? Oh, no my friend. I have read those before and seriously what was the point? Hands down I am going choose the latest from Nalini Singh or Alison Kent (to name a few!)

And this does not just have to be about books. Movies too. For those of you who know me - know I can hardly work our DVD player. Until last weekend, I had not been to the movies since May 2002. (We saw Spiderman - last weekend I saw Catch & Release) I have tried NetFlicks and liked it very much - just did not watch them fast enough. (OK I have been so busy reading that I did not have time to watch DVDs. There is only so much fantasy time.)

So, OK I have shared my thoughts - what about you??? Is escaping reality for a few chapters therapeutic for you too? Is it so bad to imagine what it would be like to be someone else?