The Rule of Cause and ...

Real life is stranger than fiction.

Today I learned something from reading this book - that although random things happen to people in real life for no apparent reason, in fiction, a writer must include the cause for every major action and effect in the story. Else, it would seem 'unreal'. How's that for an oxymoron?

Anyway, having read the first few chapters, I pondered upon the story I am outlining for next month's writing marathon, and decided to make a few changes to make the flow more punchy and meaningful. In case you are wondering, the story is about a girl, a dog and a man.

At noon today, something rather meaningful happened.

It had a cause - Jude's birthday gift to me. Included in the gift was the contact details of a book project editor. We corresponded, I showed her a story I wrote and for the first time in my life, I received real constructive feedback from a real life book editor. I was thrilled, not because the feedback was raving upon my maestro as a word-smith (it wasn't). But because she actually took the time to read through my piece and gave very helpful feedback on it.

Friends would normally pat you on the back and tell you that you are a genius and stuff like that. They probably would not have the heart to tell you that your story's lame or boring. Sometimes they focus on the good points of your work and neglect to tell you the bad ones.

And it had an effect - I wish I could convey the exact extent of what this feedback did and is doing to me. I feel like my world's about to change somehow. I feel like doing some things I never really considered before.

Sometimes real life may seem tame compared to fiction. But the effect is all the more better. Simply because it's real and tangible. Not a mere figment of one's imagination.