Fiction

By Safiyya Yakub

What do you do when your mind travels in abstract space reaping imaginations, images and occurrences of varying colours and sensation? Figments that make your heart smile with depths of appeal you’re yet to discover, or macabre flash of events terrifying enough to jolt you into spasms of panic?

Little thoughts become waves of imaginations in a flurry, and within an epoch comprising only of silent, uncalculated and subconscious seconds, stories emerge. Often, we give ourselves the liberty to relish the sentiments etched in the lines of these innovations in our heads, and nothing more. Many wouldn’t permit the most fleeting chance of their imagination creeping into reality, because not many are brave enough to develop these imaginations to use them to express themselves just like the painter details out his state of mind with his canvas and brushes or as the sculptor carves out stories, myths and nature from what used to be only a log of timber.

Whilst a large number of people are yet to discover any talent in the world of creativity, a few have willingly and conclusively dismissed the interest of harnessing any such skills of projecting the ideas created by their imaginations to the outer world. Their imaginations with time dissipate into thin air just as they never existed, or remain stifled in their minds like prisoners meant to serve a life sentence.

A writer, however, recognizes the beauty of such “interference” to reality. It is typical of a writer to nurture their imaginations prudently, evolving them to become stories; creating a concord between scenes and characters only existing within the shell of the writer’s colourful mind. And like a mystifying puzzle, the writer puts fragments of their imagination together and set them free with a pen. The simple art of writing creates a passage to the writer’s mind, and transitions mere imaginations into readable stories; powerful, life-changing, sad, romantic, hilarious etc, to be seen and devoured by the world. They become FICTION. And what is fiction other than sync between imaginary ideas and reality?

Fiction is not a reflection of facts. It is in fact fabrication in its entirety. The settings and characters in fiction are fictitious even though the writer might have “stolen” some characteristics from real-life characters and places in creating their fictitious characters. Remarkably, not all events in fiction are always fictitious. Many a time, real-life happenings come across to the writer as inspiration for a story and a good writer uses anything in reality, imagination and creativity to create their fiction. This is where fiction corresponds with reality.

Fiction is all about expression and such expression is not without proper scheming in order to capture the reader’s mind, compelling him/her to total attentiveness, steer the reader’s emotions and consequently give a satisfying conclusion to the reader. The latter motive is one of the major contrasts between fiction and non-fiction because while non-fiction may have unpredictable, possibly sad and unfair endings, fiction on the other hand always ends with a note of fulfilment and acceptance to the reader. Fiction is a bouquet of creativity, isn’t it?

Although, as much as fiction is designed to keep the reader entertained, it, without doubt, comes with real-life applications and epiphany that opens the reader’s eyes to real-life situations; what to expect and how to stay atop the bombshell if possible. I will say that this certitude alone makes writers of fiction not just makers of concocted stories but also intellectuals whose use of imagination to tell stories to have enormous potential to bring about significant change.

Conclusively, fiction is home to many readers. The leisure derived from reading fiction is unmatched especially to those who read as a form of relaxation. The versatility of themes in fiction is just as striking; from romance to adventure, suspense, sci-fi et cetera as soothes the reader’s mood or general preference. Fiction takes the reader on a tour around its chapters with every page revealing wonders embedded in words creatively juxtaposed to give crystal clear imagery that explains the story better. Fiction is beautiful, isn’t it?