Let’s say you have two favorites that bring you the most consistent and satisfying ice cream experience. Let’s say they are a deep, dark, intense chocolate that pleasantly haunts your thoughts long after the last lick is gone, and a creamy strawberry that hits you with a surge of sweetness, waking up your taste buds as it melts over your tongue.
You may try a variety of other flavors, finding them interesting and delicious, but these two are your steady favorites and never fail to delight. Even if you decide to experiment with butter brickle or go with plain vanilla, you know that a sprinkling of strawberries or a dollop of chocolate sauce will add to your enjoyment, bringing you that flavor you really crave.
Our fiction reading habits are much the same. When we’re browsing for a new book to read, we may decide to sample something new, trying out a new author or a new genre. Or we may be so attuned to one or two particular genres that we always go straight to them, feeling fairly confident that our reading experience will be a rewarding one.
But no matter how we choose our story or what we settle on reading, there are two flavors fiction writers add to their creations that consistently deliver a pleasurable reading experience: surprise and suspense.
Leave a Reply