Is it possible to write fiction as a non-sensing, non-worldly person?
I've always wanted to write fiction, but I've been afraid I'd sooner or later be limited by my lack of exposure to the world (or having any desire thereof). I barely watched television growing up, so my knowledge of pop-culture has always been abysmal; I'm that guy who never saw any popular or classic movie. I thought <PERSON> was a new kind of TiVo for at least a day or two when his name was all over the tabloids. (I don't remember what the actual news was, despite friends having explained it to me.) I don't remember anything that's not important to me, like people's names, restaurant names, and dates of events.
Meanwhile, I seem to have uncanny recall for things surrounding emotions that matter to me, like how a certain string of words, casually remarked by a friend while driving him to work, actually revealed a hint of an insecurity (as I was making a left turn onto Lusk Blvd on a Tuesday morning).
Outside the "emotional" scenarios however, I feel completely oblivious to the world. Furthermore I feel unworldly, because I've never traveled, nor do I feel very much desire to travel—there's so much to do in my room alone!
Despite all this, I feel I may have developed a relatively rich understanding of people, having played an unofficial role of "therapist" for many friends, sometimes even strangers. 96
I think that I may be able to write something that "befriends" and communicates a new idea to even the most "closed-minded" of people. (For example, it seems "closed-minded" people are only closed to things they perceive as a threat, so if you show them you mean no harm—that you're not there to threaten the beliefs that subconsciously uphold their feeling of self-worth, but instead ready to forgive all wrongs and promise unconditional respect despite whatever they may believe—then in my experience, they tend to open up. Admittedly, I am a bit of an idealist.)
But how do I make a story out of such abstract thoughts, if I have nothing concrete to work with? I'm afraid that I'll never become a good writer, because though I may possess all the floor plans, I have no brick with which to manifest my ideas.
It would be greatly encouraging for me to know if I'm not alone in being and feeling this way, e.g. if there are well-known authors who write despite having this personality, and I'd want to read whatever I could find about their process of writing. Perhaps it's merely an extreme case of a relatively common issue that authors have? I wonder things like: Is it possible to write an entire story abstractly,
[Here, <PERSON> says something that betrays that she's hopeful, despite insisting she's indifferent.]
[At this point in the story, <PERSON> should do or say something that reveals a non-malicious but still condescending or patronizing attitude toward <PERSON>.]
[Somewhere around here, the phrase "run away from your problems," needs to be stressed, as it's a phrase that <PERSON> is sensitive to and easily misconstrues.]
and fill in the actual details later? (Has a well-known story ever been written this way?) But I don't know where else to ask such a "personalized" question. I apologize in advance if this question isn't a good fit for the site; I understand if it is too specific to my case to likely help future visitors and thus needs to be closed. 460