I think that good writing is about
triggers - words, phrases, images, places, sensations - that reach deep into
the reader’s mind.
That reaction will be based on
something the reader has actually experienced, or maybe something that the
reader dreads ever having to experience. It is why horror and ghost stories
work so well.
Yes, you are messing about with the
reader’s head, yes, you may be forcing them to confront
difficult truths, but isn’t that sometimes what writing is about?
If every story, every book, was about
sugary-sweet people in lovely situations, then writing could never really move
the reader as it should.
In the end, you want your writing to
have an effect on your reader. The worst thing is if your reader gets to the
end of your story (assuming they get that far) and immediately forgets it. Much
better for something they have just read to linger in their mind.
John Dean
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