Lately, lying has been on my mind. Why and how people lie and the results of those lies is a source of both disappointment and, strangely, inspiration. There's an odd intersection in my life right now: I'm starting a new novel that deals with lies and their repercussions, while at the same time in my personal life trying to comprehend how a lie has managed to interfere with the life of a person whom I greatly respect for having high integrity.
Lies are powerful, dangerous things. They have teeth, metaphorically-speaking. In my work-in-progress, lies have teeth, and not just metaphorically. I'm not talking about the kinds of small side-steps of the truth we tell to get out of going to a family gathering, or when we insist that our friend doesn't look fat in those jeans.
I'm thinking about the kinds of lies that are aimed at diverting the truth, obscuring what should be and replacing it with the desires of the liar.
Here are my own definitions of the more destructive sorts of lies.
Lies with Teeth:
- Rumor, and her evil twin sister, innuendo
- Deception
- Exaggeration
- Withholding information
- Lying to yourself
These are just a few of the flavors I'm exploring! Any others to add?
1 comments:
I was just out shopping this morning and heard on the radio that the number one lie people tell is about the books they say they have read!
So the next time you ask a friend if they have read a certain book and they tell you Yes, it just might be a big fat lie.
I don't know why anyone would want to lie about what they haven't read? Do you?
Anyhow, writing about liars sounds exciting with all the tangled webs they can weave.
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