Taking the reader along on the journey
It is always a pleasure to add another country to the growing list of nations being represented in our competition. This time, it is Romania and a writer from that beautiful city of Bucharest.
What strikes me about all the stories that come in, and our Romanian entry is an example, is the ability of writers to place their readers in situations that evoke a reaction. That is what writing is about.
As mentioned in a previous blog, I have always believed that good writing is about triggers - words, phrases, images, places, sensations - that reach deep into the reader’s mind to bring about a strong reaction.
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?
It is only a personal opinion but if every story, every book, was about sugary-sweet people in lovely situations, then I am not sure that writing could ever move the reader as it should.
So, yes, writing can, on occasion, make the reader feel uneasy, uncomfortable, scared even, but, let’s be honest, isn‚t that sometimes the way we feel in our daily lives anyway? It’s simply art reflecting reality.