IMHO, writing is about understanding human nature well enough to cobble together a mess of squiggly symbols (letters) into a magic spell that attunes a reader’s brain into a parallel dimension. The barrier to entry is almost nonexistent—almost anyone can write. The barrier to perception (great writing, after all, is meant to undo the walls of perception and flood the reader with concepts and emotions), is INCREDIBLY high. That’s the reason why an author should respect his/her audience and do his/her damndest to make sure that not a single letter is out of place, that they have followed/broken the rules JUST so—so that their readers are not looking at dry, black-on-white scrawl, but a tapestry of concepts stuffed with memetic magic.
Musings
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13 responses to “Musings”
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Readers should feel compelled to enter and buy in, the same way they are seduced by a swimming pool in summer, a postcard of an exotic beach, the creepy desolation of desert and rocks. Whatever their adventure, one of us should write it for them and when they leave, it should be theirs, not ours.
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Totally agree. The reader’s setting aside a hefty time investment and contributing to our needs or wants in the form of money; we should recognize this for the honor it is and do the reader as impeccable a service as we are capable of.
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In the beginning was the real world, and the world was with us, and the world was us. Then a clever storyteller created an unreal world, and all hell broke loose.
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One of my author friends, who was really a friend first, sent me a book she had written. It was an ok read and then I got to where the female character said a common French phrase and the author did not spell it correctly. I couldn’t figure out what the phrase/word was til I sounded it out. I was so annoyed. She had many beta readers and no one noticed it. I mentioned it and she laughed. BUT, she is also going to put me in a part of a book she is writing, so I guess I should hope there aren’t any typos in my scenes!
Kent Wayne 
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