Things that are common in fiction but not in your real life

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich was my lunch on Sunday. So, still popular. I offer same to my cousin's son whenever he is here.

In fiction, hardly anybody uses the toilet. Must be a mess out there.

Reminds me of Lord of the Rings where they hardly ever ate. Stuff going in and stuff coming out seems to be overlooked in a lot of books.

[hobnail]

I already used this one in another thread but one that bugs me is people writing letters were they retell conversations exactly, and not short ones either. Or just very detailed letters. Even back when people used a pen and paper letters were fairly brief.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by issybird

I think this is getting a little muddled. The OP explicitly said



That eliminates such issues as the conking on the noggin one. It also eliminates standard tropes, such as the amateur detective. As for the toilet, I think aside from the ick factor it’s just part of excluding the mundane - things you can take for granted but would be excruciating to read about in detail.

I was remembering some past thread where we discussed errors in books and remembering that it eventually turned into a long, detailed discussion of guns, types of guns, and all the things authors get wrong about guns..... didn't want a repeat of that!

Agree with you on the toilet factor. I don't need to know every time the characters take a potty break. But I guess this brings up a related topic - what things are common in your real life that you hardly ever see in fiction?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Well, that's kind of a given with fiction. I mean, who wants to read about/watch the triumph of evil? The real life is for that.

I've read and enjoyed several books (mostly short story collections) where the villains won. Evil is a Matter of Perspective for example.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Well, that's kind of a given with fiction. I mean, who wants to read about/watch the triumph of evil? The real life is for that.

Wouldn't want to live on a steady diet of it, or anything, But I'm OK with a bit of moral ambiguity/inversion in my fiction from time to time.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Wouldn't want to live on a steady diet of it, or anything, But I'm OK with a bit of moral ambiguity/inversion in my fiction from time to time.

Moral ambiguity and morally grey characters are perfectly fine. I meant the kind of fiction where undiluted evil wins, and not in the tongue-in-cheek sense. Yes, I know such fiction exists and people read it, but frankly I cannot imagine why one would want to constantly consume such depressing stuff.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I've read and enjoyed several books (mostly short story collections) where the villains won. Evil is a Matter of Perspective for example.

I haven't read it, but I imagine the villains are more like morally grey than pure evil in this book?

I'm not actually sure pure evil as such even exists. As you say, it's a matter of perspective. But still, deliberately hurting/destroying others just for one's own enjoyment presumably comes close (I don't mean consensual sadomasochism here ). I wouldn't want to read about a character like that winning, unless he/she has some redeeming qualities. But then this hypothetical character wouldn't be pure evil.

[hobnail]

I've read a couple of books where someone has had violet eyes. If I saw someone with violet eyes that would be freaky. I think it's only been British authors.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by hobnail

I've read a couple of books where someone has had violet eyes. If I saw someone with violet eyes that would be freaky. I think it's only been British authors.

Actually, Liz Taylor had Violet eyes.
https://www.livescience.com/33149-di...olet-eyes.html

Shari

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Even as a kid I used to put these words into Gunsmoke's Marshall Dillon's mouth, "It's okay, I just got shot in an unimportant part of my heart." Even at that age I had trouble suspending disbelief that much. Looking it up in an Internet search, supposedly Marshall Dillon got shot 56 times, knocked unconscious 29 times, stabbed three times and poisoned once.

That's okay. It just creased his skull.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by shalym

Actually, Liz Taylor had Violet eyes.
https://www.livescience.com/33149-di...olet-eyes.html

Shari

Must be why that Welsh guy kept marrying her.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I haven't read it, but I imagine the villains are more like morally grey than pure evil in this book?

True. Most of the books were more about the need for a balance between good and evil. There there have been several stories which had protagonists who would qualify as pure evil. One that stands out is Eric Frank Russell's The Displaced Person. For most people, the person the protagonist meets has to be purely evil though he regards himself as a failed revolutionary.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by hobnail

I've read a couple of books where someone has had violet eyes. If I saw someone with violet eyes that would be freaky. I think it's only been British authors.

Originally Posted by shalym

Actually, Liz Taylor had Violet eyes.
https://www.livescience.com/33149-di...olet-eyes.html

Shari

I've never seen violet eyes in real life - that would be interesting to see.

Another eye color I've seen described in books but never seen in real life is dark blue. I've seen people IRL with a variety of shades of blue, such as gray-blue, pale blue, and even one person with an almost startling aqua/turquoise color. But none of those were dark. The only dark eyes I've seen in real life are brown.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I've never seen violet eyes in real life - that would be interesting to see.

Another eye color I've seen described in books but never seen in real life is dark blue. I've seen people IRL with a variety of shades of blue, such as gray-blue, pale blue, and even one person with an almost startling aqua/turquoise color. But none of those were dark. The only dark eyes I've seen in real life are brown.

I once met a guy who had startling intense blue eyes. I made a comment about them and he said, "Oh, it's cosmetic contacts. But everything is dark!" Apparently the coloring covered the center as well, or most of it. This was way back in the 1970s. Then there were some I saw in London, Cheapside maybe, and they gave you brown and yellow vertical slit reptile eyes. Very realistic and creepy.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

So apparently the characters in the books you read aren't picky about their drinks, as long as they are wearing the right brand of clothing

Different books / authors/ genres