As a writer, my main objective is to tell the story urgently - as if whispering it into one ear - and to know the characters intimately.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I have no particular reader in mind, but a passionate desire to tell an honest, moving story.
When I write fiction, I never try to deliver a message; I just want to tell a story. But I admit that I want the story to be memorable and the characters to touch the reader's heart.
I've always enjoyed that kind of thing - thinking about the production of narrative and why it is that when we read a novel, we don't notice the fact that someone who might be very close-mouthed or tight-lipped is perfectly willing to tell us a story in 600 or 700 pages.
Listen to great storytellers; slowly, you will learn about voice, timing, tension, structure, climax - all the things you need to tell stories that will capture the imagination of your audience.
My job as an author is to tell the story in the best way possible, to make it flow seamlessly and get the reader to keep turning the page.
My purpose as a writer is to communicate in such a way as to challenge the thinking of readers and touch their hearts.
Readers want to see, hear, feel, smell the action of your story, even if that action is just two people having a quiet conversation.
I never try to give a message in my books. It's about living with characters long enough to hear their voices and let them tell me the story. Sometimes I would love to have a happy ending, and it doesn't happen because the character or the story leads me in another direction.
A lot of banging in the head has built up over the decades, and for my own sanity, I needed to write. I wanted to see if I could tell an honest, organic story about characters that interest me.
Write the story you need to tell and want to read. It's impossible to know what others want, so don't waste time trying to guess.