Some People Prefer Fiction

Originally posted November 23, 2021

In life, there will always be more stories written about you than you will get to write about yourself. That’s how it goes.

I’m far from perfect. I’ve hurt people and I’ve been hurt, but the hurt always redirects us. The same way that love, grace and healing re-enforces us. The hurt helps us navigate our story either by pushing us in a new direction or demanding us to fight harder. I’m thankful for the people in my life that I’ve hurt and have still chosen to show me grace.

People only ever see small parts of you and piece together what they know. That gives people the chance to watch you change and grow and see it either in a huge way or to keep putting the same pieces together, assuming you’re incapable of change and keep writing the same story about you. There will be thousands of stories about you. Some will be epic novels, some short stories and some will be fleeting poetry about the way your hair looks at the grocery store. But no matter how hard these stories try, they will never be the truth. The only story with any weight and power is the truth.

That doesn’t mean people care to hear the truth — some people prefer fiction! I can’t blame them. Historical fantasy/fiction is the genre that usually has a pull on me. Let people write their stories about you. Let them fill a library with the lore of you! It’d be tempting to try and write a foreword in every single one of these stories so that maybe someone can get even a glimpse of the truth but eventually, your hand would cramp, your brain would tire and time would be taken away from the truth. Besides, who reads the foreword anyway? People could read your story cover to cover and say, “That’s it?” and tell their book club that it wasn’t worth the hours and bottle of wine and to not even attempt it. People may choose to hear truth because they like the cover! But get halfway through and decide it’s not for them and still write a poor review on GoodReads.com. Again, it could be really tempting as the owner of the property rights to get defensive and respond to every poor review but much like the foreword… Some people prefer fiction.

Let people write their minimizing book reports and thesis statements about what you are and what you stand for. But don’t hand them your pen. Your story only matters to the people who care to read it. No matter the cover. No matter how many juicy stories and celebrity cameos are featured. No matter the success trajectory. It’s the one that matters. Hold the pen. Some people just prefer fiction.

XOXO, Texas Jess