For the authors - The Writer as an invisible window.

The process of becoming an author/storyteller is a long one. Although some have a natural talent, others, most others, need time and practice to hone the art. Not everyone can attain clarity and accessibility of concepts easily. Ego is a beast that entices us to overwrite and say to the reader, I am here.  

To be an author, you need to harvest ideas until one is so striking that it must be explored on paper. I will get to that process in future blogs. I want to present the hardest lesson for a fledgling writer to learn: Invisibility.

Many a writer starts writing to become famous, successful, and maybe rich. "I'll be the next Hemingway." How disappointing it must be to find out that it is only by being anonymous among the pages of your manuscript that the author has any chance of being good, much less famous. Fame is based on general consensus and earnestly awarded through perspiration, Mr. Hemingway, Jr.  

The best writers are phantoms during the readers time within the pages of their manuscript.    

A truly great writer of any genre must tell a story without being seen. Although his attitudes and conceptions will color his writing, they must do so in such a way that the reader cannot discern them. Alternatively, the truly great writers are able to present their concepts in a way that the reader uses them as a starting point to reach the reader’s unique personal conclusions. The author has no investment in the reader's conclusions, he or she is merely the path. The road does not care where you take it. 

One only need think about the allegory of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. This type of writing demonstrates the power of the author to convey his message without blocking the view, or asking for kudos.

The writer should be a window on a life/event that directs the reader’s attention to the action, but does not distract from viewing it. The tint of the glass should not be obvious or even better the glass should be invisible and the story should shine through. 

The clever writing of a novice, and the special tricks of the hack, do not make the reader’s pleasure greater. The abundance of metaphors, which are beautifully written and appropriately descriptive, maybe be too much, and stop the reader's progress, rather than add the color the author wants. We do not need to add sugar to honey, because it is already sweet enough. Some writers believe there can never be too much sweetness. The good writers know when the story is attractive enough and draws enough flies. 

The neophyte writer must learn to put his ego in chains, and not release it until the writing is finished. If he truly becomes the invisible person, then his story has a chance at success. The only time the reader should know that there is an author involved is when he looks at the title page.

-- L. Preschel author of the Sam-Cath mysteries.