Here it is, Wednesday, and Fandango is back with another of those pesky provocative questions:
“How do you feel about people who always seem to exaggerate when relating a story? Do you equate embellishment with lying? As a blogger, when, if ever, is stretching the truth, other than when writing fiction, permissible?”
I have no problem at all with exaggeration from anyone when it comes to relating anything when it is for entertainment purposes. Likewise, I’m OK with exaggerators generally; if a person feels they need to pump up their reality with a little extra, who is it harming? Again, this is in regards to entertainment or just general bs-ing.
In my former job, lying, aka exaggerating, from clients was expected, so if I was the type of person who got jacked out of shape every time I heard a lie, I wouldn’t have been able to do that job very well. The same applies in the “real world”, be that in blogland or not. What is necessary is to learn how to sift fact from lie and get to the real truth of the important stuff.
Where I have a problem with “stretching the truth” is when people can get harmed, gaslighted, fired, promoted, escape prosecution, charged with perjury, misrepresent who they are to others that might be exploited by such a person, or otherwise harmed tangibly or intangibly.
In fiction, THE GLOVES ARE OFF. All is fair in love and fiction.
Tao Talk 
Ditto 🙂
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If you took away the exaggeration during story telling, all Irish pubs would be dead quiet. 🙂
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I wish you could hear my laughter right now. And don’t forget the fishermen! I bet Irish fishermen are the worst.
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Look into my eyes – it isn’t exaggeration, not at all. It’s a living example of hyperbole if you must have a name for it, but I just call it a story, and every story has some grain of truth to it, otherwise, no one would believe it, would they?
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:::looking into your eyes::: I like the way you think. I don’t think humans were even designed to be “100% truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. “The truth” is a fluid thing unless you are talking about how many oranges are in the basket, not whether those oranges are the sweetest thing you ever tasted. Hyperbole is a word I need to learn more about.
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It’s a word to build your life on, the biggest and bestest and sweetest and most grand of all things – you just wait ’til you experience it! Your life will change!!
And if that ain’t hyperbole, I don’ know what is!
It’s how I always managed to pick the kids lies – the need to overdo it, to expand just a bit too much …
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“All is fair in love and fiction.” Well, in fiction, anyway.
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❤
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It’s the dynamics of storytelling… set people up for the arc of the story…I agree.
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Even though I accept that “lying” and “exaggerating” are a part of life, ooh lordy, if one of my loved ones were to lie to me, it wouldn’t be pretty. It’s a weird dichotomy, but it is what it is. I guess I expect more from my inner circle than what the standard is.
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Well it depends on the intent… I mean if Bailey told me that “giant vicious dog was after him” etc….and it was a small poodle that is one thing….but lie to try to get over something? Oh no….
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Well said Li. And that is no exaggeration. 😉
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lol Punam.
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😀😀
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I have no objection to someone relating a story with some artistic license, as long as it’s not followed or prefaced by “this is the truth”. 😀
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Well-said!
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Good post. Agree with you !
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Thanks Sadje, not an easy topic to write about. I liked your response as well.
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Thanks 🙏, it needed honest response. 😃
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