Hi writers!
Many of you probably suspect I'm going to use this space to write about, yet again, Stuart Dybek's The Coast of Chicago and the emotional impact that damn book has on me every single time I read it.
I'm not. I swear!
The topic came to me while listening to a Yak Babies episode in which my pal Aaron Block discusses the gut-punch delivered to him anytime he reads Goodbye, Columbus and, well, The Coast of Chicago, and how he tries to offer the same effect in his own writing.
"If I could make someone feel the way I felt when reading [those books]," Aaron says, "then I would feel accomplished. I want [my readers] to feel something that I'm trying to make them feel."
This week's questions are:
- What writers and books elicit strong emotional responses from you as a reader?
- What types of emotions, if any, are you seeking in the books you read?
- And as a writer, what types of emotions do you aim to elicit from your own readers?
