The most beloved characters of our time all have one trait in common: they let the reader experience their interior worlds, with all of the darkness, the strangeness, the confusion and the shame. It's not that the writers linger in these places (it would be breathtakingly challenging to read too much of it!) but these moments allow us to identify with the character and to be drawn ever deeper into the work.
Many writers use special techniques to indicate that such moments are approaching. We will be examining a variety of these methods and testing out which are most effective. Stand aside, John Gardner. We all need more information than was provided in your essay on psychic distance!
Goldie Goldbloom is a writer, teacher and editor, author of four internationally award-winning books of fiction, most recently On Division (winner of the Prix des Libraires in France), and many articles, short stories and essays that have appeared around the world. For over fifteen years, she was on the faculty at Northwestern University and/ or the University of Chicago. She currently runs a developmental editing service for best-selling authors, celebrities and talented writers from all walks of life. She is the mother of eight children and an LGBTQ activist.
