   April 4, 2014 By Michael Tidemann - Staff Writer ,
Estherville News   Where do the ideas for a short story or novel
come from?  For a lot of writers, it's a matter of 'what if'.
What if I had enlisted in the Marines instead of going to
college during the Vietnam War.  What if I had gone to college
instead of enlisting in the Marines during the Vietnam War.
While both scenarios offer totally different answers, it's the
what if that provides the fictive stance, the opportunity to
imagine a world that doesn't really exist - but could.  What if
I had married ____ instead of ____. How would my life be
different.  What if I had gone along with my friends when they
headed out for the Coast in '69 - and never came back. Would I
have stayed in Frisco too? If I had, what would my life have
been like.  What if I had taken that job in Chicago, or New York
or Philadelphia instead of settling for something closer to
home.  What if I had gone to college at that Ivy League school
instead of State.  It's fictive realitie