Lhe magic of fiction writing is that it can transport us literally anywhere, to any timeperiod, any setting, whether real or fantastical. I think it’s the closest we’ll ever get to magic.
Some writers are able to make the world they’ve created seem real and alive. You feel like you could take a walk in it, touch the grass and have a decent idea of what the place smells like.
The effect looks seamless and almost effortless. Reading and discovering such worlds, for me at least, comes with more than a hint of jealousy. To anyone wrestling with their own draft, the effect can be disheartening. But this is misleading.
With fiction we only ever get to see the finished, polished product. We never get to see the text in any state of dishevelment. We don’t see the nuts and bolts of it – the hours of
