Either It Happened Or It Didn't

We humans care so much about things that almost happened.  I almost got in a car crash.  I almost knocked over the stack of dishes.  I almost got caught.  These thoughts sometimes haunt us.  We talk about "what might have been."  But ultimately, either it happened or it didn't.


In writing, this is less the case.  If you read a story where a lot of time is spent describing a situation from which nothing significant occurs, you would be upset by it.  Why did the writer waste all that time on a nonevent?  What purpose was there to it?  What entertainment was there to it?

The only way to really bring up these subjects is to specifically write about them.  A character whose mind is wrapped around a close call.  People who who have the most improbable things happen to them and stand around asking what are the odds.  A person who finds out the bus he missed getting on was destroyed by a suicide bomber and can't help but feel that it would have been him, but for the grace of God.

If you wanted to experiment with your writing, then try to prove me wrong.  Write a story that deals with what almost happened.  Write a story where it the shades of gray between did and didn't happen are significant.  I am sure those stories are out there.  Go and bring them to life.