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Word for a story you read or you write (fiction), and then happens in real life?

English Language & Usage Asked by Rodrigoss on June 3, 2021

The question arose when I was reading "The past tense" by Hilary Mantel. Near the end, the teacher creates a little story using the student’s names to represent some of the characters. One of the characters in the story happens to have his head turned backwards. The next day when the teacher comes to class, the students say that John Kumalo, the student whose name was used in the story as the character with the backwards head is in the hospital and that doctors are trying to untwist him.

TL/DR: I want to know if there is a word describing the fact of telling/creating/reading a story that you think is fiction and then it happens in real life

I tried finding something related to foreshadowing or prophecy/premonition to no avail

Another example is Marianne (The French TV show) where the protagonist writes about a witch and then all the occurrences in her book also happen in real life.

2 Answers

There are many. The following are all verbs (mostly transitive). Many have adjective and noun cognates. Of these, the first is the most apt (IMO).

realize - a) To bring into concrete existence; b) Make real. [source- SOED]

actualize - Make actual or real. [source - SOED]

incarnate - Put (an idea etc.) into concrete form; realize. [source - SOED]

externalize - Make external; embody, give external form to; treat as existing or occurring in the external world. Also, reduce to external observances. [source - SOED]

objectify - Make into or present as an object of perception; make objective; express in an external or concrete form. [source - SOED]

embody - To make concrete and perceptible.

exteriorize - Give external form to, attribute external existence to. [source - SOED]

materialize - a) Make material; represent in material form. Also, make materialistic; b) Come into perceptible existence; become actual fact. [source - SOED]

reify - Convert (a concept etc.) mentally into a thing; materialize. [source - SOED]

hypostatize - Make into or represent as a substance or a concrete reality. [source - SOED]

Correct answer by ConsciousClay on June 3, 2021

The nearest I can suggest is a prescience.

“the ability to know or correctly suggest what will happen in the future”

Cambridge dictionary

Although it is described as the ability, I have read prose where it is also used for the fact of correctly knowing or suggesting. Here is one related example.

“ Tessie died of complications of pneumonia, at a friend’s house. She had a prescience of her own death”

Fallen Leaves

Answered by Anton on June 3, 2021

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