I love the “Friend” interactive timeline, highlighting memorable historic moments during the past 150 years. The timeline contains great bite-sized facts, complete with eye-catching images and videos.
My favourite timeline events are the ones where I learn some new facts. For example, check out the year 1881 . . .
In October of that year, the famous “Gunfight At The OK Corral” took place. On one side stood Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp, alongside gunman, gambler and dentist by trade, Doc Holliday. Facing them were the infamous Clanton and McLaury gang.
The location, of course, was the Wild West town of Tombstone in Arizona, the name itself conjuring up lawlessness and stirring the imagination.
Why I Love To Read
The timeline also mentions an interesting fact – the gunfight between the two factions lasted only 30 seconds.
In my mind, I imagined the fabled shootout lasting for at least a few minutes, with lawmen and cowboys crouching behind barrels and water troughs, reloading and shouting amid a barrage of bullets.
That’s one of the strengths of the imagination – the creative mind fills in the blanks as it goes along. It’s also one of the pleasures of reading.
In films and plays, you see characters and action unfold in front of your eyes, with little visual effort required from the imagination.
In books, though, writers paint descriptions for the readers. There are often story blanks, too, for the readers to fill in themselves.
More power to the reader and imagination, I say, whether we’re in the Wild West or present day.
Alan Spink I am a member of the “Friend” Fiction Team. I enjoy working closely with writers and being part of the creative process, which sees storytelling ideas come to fruition. A keen reader, I also write fiction and enjoy watching football and movies in my spare time. My one tip to new writers is “write from your imagination”.
