As a reader, I tend not to get too much from tales of unrelenting grimness.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Sadly, for those who are busy sawing off their feet to escape the trap of cliches, every story is chock full of them and sometimes depends on an especially hoary one.
Good stories flow like honey. Bad stories stick in the craw. A bad story? One that cannot be absorbed on the first time of reading.
There was a lot of fiction I did not enjoy, whose landscapes seemed bland and unevocative, the characters faint-hearted within them, the very words lacking vibrancy.
I have no illusions concerning the precarious status of my tales and do not expect to become a serious competitor of my favorite weird authors.
I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar.
The tragic element of a character is always intriguing I think.
I like that 'once upon a time' quality, where the telling of a tale has an elevated sense of story. There's a whimsical quality to it. Sometimes in fairy tales more things seem possible, even though often they're real world based.
I'm actually quite critical of the storytelling theme. I think all the storytellers are not storytellers.
Every story takes its toll on me and leaves an impression on me.
Fiction, even when it's grim and hard, is fun.