The Forest for the Trees: Introduction

"The writer labors in isolation, yet all that intensive, lonely work is in the service of communicating, is an attempt to reach another person."


I think this statement makes a very good point. While a writer usually is alone when he or she writes, he or she is writing as if someone else was there. The writer is telling a story on paper instead of telling it orally. It's like sending someone an e-mail instead of talking to them face to face, with the only difference being that a person can't sense emotion from tone of voice. A writer must be very descriptive to get his or her message across. He or she must use imagery and help the reader visualize what's going on. Eyes are always on a writer one way or another, even if no one is actually looking him or her in the face.