When Your Fictional Life Intrudes On Your Real One

To: Abbottsville Fourth Ward and the wonderful people who read my blog.
From: Donna Banta
Subject: Fact vs. Fiction

Okay, so this morning I asked Mark if he had picked up his prescription. He stared at me for a second then answered, "Yes. I went last night after dinner. Remember?" I thought for a moment, shook my head, and said, "Are you sure?"

We went back and forth a few rounds before I got things straight in my mind. My husband had picked his prescription. But the character in the novel I'm currently writing had not.

This brings me to the question, what do you do when your fictional world intrudes on your real one? Give up writing novels? Not an option. Give up blogging? No way! Give up reading my friends' blogs? Are you kidding?! Give up watching news and following politics? Hello? It's the source of my best material.

Maybe that's the problem, the fictional world has become more believable than the real one. Or maybe I'm just crazy.

To illustrate my dilemma, I've compiled the following True or False quiz:

1. Four Mormon girls committed murder to get into BYU.
2. Glenn Beck has a university.
3. David Twede is Wm. Law X-Mormon of the Year (Yes!)
4. #21 in the LDS Hymnal is entitled As I Have Cast Off All the Lies.
5. The NRA wants to arm elementary school teachers.
6. President Paternoster recently died. (Say it's not so!)
7. Seven Miracles That Saved America by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart is considered to be a work of non-fiction.
8. Senate Republicans refused to ratify a U.N. treaty protecting the rights of the disabled because they thought it would pose an international threat to American households.
9. Chris Stewart, coauthor of Seven Miracles That Saved America, is now a member of Congress.
10. Utah has a state gun.
11. A group of Mormon females call themselves feminists because they believe that women should be allowed to wear pants to church and offer prayers in General Conference.
12. There are Mormon males who feel threatened by these females.
13.  Leah has a new blog. (Yes! Yes!)
14. There are people who know the Church is true with every fiber of their being.
15. Mark Banta still hasn't picked up his prescription at the Abbottsville Pharmacy.

If you can separate the true from the false, you're far more sane than I am!