A Non-RantyThursday--Do You Have to Choose?

So, I went and saw The Words last night. I did this for a few reasons. One, I thought the story was interesting, despite what the critics said (or maybe because of the panning--I'm perverse that way). Two, I'm in love with Bradley Cooper. That second is pretty well known. I've made no secret about it. But that's not the topic of this post.

 But isn't he pretty? Yes, yes he is.

No, the topic of this post comes from a line in the movie that just stuck with me. One of the characters, a writer, says something along the lines of "You have to choose. Fiction or reality? The line between the two is very close, but it is there. Eventually, you have to choose. Fiction? Or reality?"

Now, obviously that's paraphrased--my memory is good but it's not that good on a first listen--but it really got me thinking.

While the movie uses "fiction" as a metaphor for the lies we tell and the lives we destroy or make, I looked at it from some weird unidentifable angle. I heard those words and I thought, "Is that really true? As writers, do we really have to choose between our fiction (the lies we tell, etc) and reality? Do we really have to decide which one we're going to invest more of ourselves in?"

I say no. I can point out multiple authors who not only have great commercial and critical success but also have (as far as we the public know) a stable, happy home life.

On the flip side, I can also name people who have blurred the lne between fiction and reality to such a degree that their fans and they themselves have problems seperating the two.

So the question is: Do you have to choose between fiction and reality?