Writing Reflection

"...the average person you're writing for is an acute, sensitive, attentive, sophisticated reader who will appreciate adroitness, precision, economy and clarity"

 

Wallace really emphasizes the idea that a good writer needs to remember that one is writing for a human being to read. I agree that this is a really important aspect of good writing, because I often lose sense of this. It's tempting to write assuming the reader understands our own thoughts, but this is never the case. The reader cannot read our minds. It's important to always step back when revisiting our writing, and read it objectively. While Wallace emphasizes the fact the reader cannot read our minds, I like that he also touches on the fact that we need to have faith in the reader's capacity to understand. I think this is an important balance that is necessary to maintain in good writing. 

Personally, I have never thought so much about the art of literature. Now that I think of it, I feel like I just write for my own entertainment and my own pleasure. I've never really wrote for an audience, so Wallace's perspective of writing is really intriguing.