HOW TO BE A SAFE PAIR OF HANDS: PART ONE

Oli Munson and I, drinking in public. Pic: Scott K AndrewsSo. I had this idea for a post about how, as a writer, to come across as a safe pair of hands. How to communicate, as quickly and clearly as possible, the following message to your reader, like a subliminal mantra intoned from beneath the actual text: "Don't worry, it's going to be all right. You can trust me to tell you this story. You're going tolove it, you lucky lucky reader, you."

It's easier said than done. I know I often close a...