I just can't understand fiction!

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Well, I find reality boring and pointless. Yeah, I'm the opposite.

I have no problem picturing it and hearing it, but it is cheating really I just patch together the visuals from places or people I've seen. Audiobooks have been great as they give me a lot of inspiration for my own internal narration. I find it much easier to mentally shut down by listening to audiobooks.

I tend to read a lot of fantasy (e.g. Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, le modest jr, And a few more), the plots are usually predictable, but i find it easier to relate to than typical fiction.. Sci fi too, but I keep forgetting that I like it, much like sci-fi movies, so I don't read a much a when I was younger. I also quite like fantasy books with a religious angle, such as da Vinci code and all the off shoots. I can believe in god in a story, but not irl.

Modesit is a particularly interesting author, there is something very aspie like about his writing, his characters lives are described in excruciating detail and the books are often written in the first person. I've listened to the snappily named "imager portfolio" too many timed to mention..

Anyway rambling.

Jason

“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fiction is how people communicate social commentary and social ideas without upsetting another party. Such as John Carpenter's The Thing was made during post communism era, where people were paranoid of each other and who may be a communist, may be the enemy. In John Carpenter's The Thing you have an alien that takes over a person and pretends to be their friend, but truly is the enemy.

I find fiction far more honest, then non fiction.

I can relate to about everything you mention. If it isn't reality, I have no interest. I also attribute it to my lack of imagination and creativity.

I enjoy fiction that offers me something new or at least exciting, giant buildings, tiny machines, an infinite list of possible things..

Where fiction loses me is in political-type elements, people double-crossing each other, the relationships between X and Y who also likes Z who also likes X blah blah blah etc. 'soap opera' type stuff

Overall I enjoy fiction that sparks my imagination and makes me think of things I never have before. There's not much fiction like this

I can understand fiction well if it's centered around escapism. Fiction to me is anything that helps me to ignore real life. ^^

This is why I read so slowly. I have to read slow enough to get most of the facts. ^^


Aw, I think that's what I'll do now. Playing games can be really great. I love puzzle games and Tower Defense. Tower Defense, in my opinion, is one of the best game types ever invented. It's so passive and abstract enough for me.

I have discovered movies for myself about 4 years ago. Towards the end of 2010 I have even developed an obsession with film. I love the aesthetics of it. So I cannot say anymore that I find movies pointless. It took me 20 years to get there though. ^^


I often feel I am not creative because I can never... or hardly ever create what I picture in my head.

I don't find creating or imagining fiction difficult if it works for me. If though I have to create something according to a task, I may not be able to create anything. I had that in art class at school. I cannot create art in a comprehensive way.

I like fiction that I know. I rarely read new material, but reread a lot that which I already know. It also applies to movies.

Otherwise, I prefer non-fiction. Mostly history. The "ten references per page" kind of history. Like ganondox, I find reality boring, but I prefer to escape in the past instead of pure imagination.

Thinking back, I used to find it hard to imagine images, settings, etc in my head, and I always wanted to.

So I researched various substances (some call them 'drugs') and tried the ones that seemed promising, and voila, I can imagine these things now.

I had forgotten about that..

I like both fiction and non-fiction. I used to read novels in the bathroom when I was a kid. The non-fiction books, I read outside the bathroom, but fiction was reserved for the bathroom, so I spent hours at a time in the bathroom.

I picture eberrything in my head when I read, and I tend to eggsperience many sensory details too. I sometimes get sensory overload from reading.

In my 40+ years, I've never read a fiction book through to completion.

When I have tried, I failed on these points
- My mind is awash with 'white noise' and I cannot deal with the slow pace of action, particularly with reading page after page of irrelevant descriptions of the character or the surroundings ; I tend to think "yeah yeah who cares about the colour or texture of that piece of fabric, can we please get on with the story or plot?"
- I couldn't care less about fictional characters who are subjects of the author's imagination. I want to care, but I just can't.
- After about 5 pages my mind starts to wander across to the real world, like an attractive magnet, to real-world facts, and I start itching with curiosity about facts then within a few minutes I'm back on the internet again (or a non-fiction reference book, etc..)
- I can't remember names. Fiction books tend to introduce several characters, and the reader is supposed to build a picture of what they might look like, what their personalities are etc.. I can't remember the last page I read. So anything more than two characters is just 'overload' for me.

Nah, I'm nothing like that.
For me,
Fantasy >>>>>>>>>>> Reality.

Only occasionally do I find a work of fiction that really captures my attention; most fiction does not interest me. In school I had to do a fair amount of literary analysis; it was a difficult task for me, and in classroom discussions I often found myself wondering how people pulled so much meaning out of a seemingly innocuous story.

For me, the more creative and far-removed from reality a work of fiction is, the better. I guess I just find reality a little dull and bleak. Fiction is an escape.

I prefer fiction, although I also enjoy a lot of non-fiction (especially if it relates to my interests).

I find a lot of fiction difficult - anything that focuses more on characters than events is frustrating to me because it feels like nothing at all is happening. A friend of mine teases me about the fact that I am apparently so intelligent, but find "intellectual reading" virtually impossible to read - that is, a lot of literature. Instead, I focus on science fiction, fantasy, some mysteries, urban fantasy, young adult fiction, horror, vampire fiction. This also sort of traces out the evolution of my special interests (which have a lot to do with these genres).

I also do the roleplaying games, and I've actually written some published material for some. I did write a couple of stories that were included in the game works, but I've never written anything like a novel or a short story outside of that kind of context.

I visualize whatever I read, and tend to remember the visualization rather than the words.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one here who can't grasp fiction. I loathe fiction books (for the most part). However, I can deal with fictional movies (although I'm very selective), and I think that I can get fiction movies because of the fact that I can see body movement, and get an idea of the context overall by being able to clearly see what is going on. Books rely strictly on words and your brain.

I like the idea of fictional works (sci-fi books particularly), but when I try to read them I just can't get past the first few pages no matter how good the book may be.

My difference is that I am actually a creative person. I can draw, paint, and I've played several musical instruments in the past. But for the life of me I can't understand fictional books. It really frustrates me too.