The Writer�s Job is to Help Readers Experience Fiction
by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan We�ve all read novels that held us tightly engaged from page one to �The End.� Then we�ve read others that while good, we could read a chapter and put it down. There can be various reasons, but I believe when we can experience the story not just read it, we overlook a multitude of possible problems. So how do we get a book that offers an experience? By taking a lesson from a layer cake. When is a Novel Like A Layer Cake? When you add layers, of course! To draw your readers into your story, you want to create an experience for them. But that experience is filtered through your POV character. You know that already? Good. But are you layering the five senses into your fiction so the reader hears, sees, smells, tastes, and feels it? It�s actually a matter of �showing vs. telling� gone wild. Your characters, plot, etc. are the flour, butter, and liquid you mix to build your cake � uh, novel. The 5 Senses are your icing. The icing on a cake is what mak...