Monday 28 September 2015

The modern reader

I find myself teaching more and more about needs of the the modern reader, that modern fiction is increasingly all about action - people doing things.
Some writers argue that today’s readers just want the story and nothing much else. To attain that, they say, any superfluous wordage is excised and novels are ruthlessly edited.
All very well and good but I would argue that there must still be place for the passage of striking description, the striking image, the use of the senses, the development of tension.
Yes, take out all the excess words but don’t forget to keep the beauty that our wondrous language allows us to create in the rush to engage readers who can’t concentrate any more!


John Dean

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