How do you convince a reader of something beyond his own experience? You start with what he does know, and you move in baby steps toward what he doesn’t. One of my favorite examples of this comes from the novel The Contortionist’s Handbook by Craig Clevenger. To paraphrase, he tells the reader to imagine waking up on a Monday morning filled with dread. Another stultifying week looms. Another soul-crushing day at work, doing something you’d never planned to do for the rest of your life. You’re growing older, your life wasted, your dreams lost. And then you realize it’s actually Sunday morning.
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