“As we read a story (let’s imagine) we’re dragging along a cart labeled “Things I Couldn’t Help Noticing” (TICHN). As we read, we’re noticing—surface-level, plot-type things (“Romeo really seems to like Juliet”), but quieter things too: aspects of the language, say (“Tons of alliteration in the first three pages”), structural features (“It’s being told in reverse chronological order!”), patterns of color, flashbacks or flash-forwards, changes in point of view.” (George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain)
Leave a comment