Great Writing Advice from Author Charles C. Mann

Mann says “When you write a book, if you’re lucky, your voice — it’s like you’re having a conversation with the reader. The reader feels like they’re having a talk with you. I know when I read a really good book, it’s like the writer’s voice is in my head, and I have this sense of this sort of friendly presence. And that’s, I think, what you want if you’re trying to talk about ideas, is to write in such a way that the person feels like ‘I’m on your side, I’m not trying to talk down to you, I’m not trying to drag you into terrain that you don’t want to go, I’m not this authority who’s lecturing you, I’m more like a guy who’s worked hard and learned some cool things that he wants to talk about.’ And I think that’s really important when you write.”