[ @brazenautomaton ]
It's... I don't wanna say "basic" storytelling, but it's not ultra advanced. You want to use a character to get the reader to look within themselves, you get them to identify with that character first. Dropping them in and going "here's why he's a piece of shit" builds a barrier between the reader and character. You get them to question their preconceptions when you lead them down a path and then tell them to look up and see they're somewhere all fucked up. Kind of the same principle as how you use an unreliable narrator to challenge the audience. Make them think the narrator mirrors their thoughts, show it deviating, make them go "Wait how much do I really agree with this guy and why?"
Thank you, Brazen. Obviously, I write some short-form fiction, but I've been weighing whether I have much to learn for my other writing from writing more fiction, especially longer fiction, in terms of techniques or habits of thought, or if it would be more like learning a musical instrument as a hobby—respectable but not broadly applicable outside of playing the instrument.
It never even occurred to me to try that perspective in a political article, so it might well be worth it after all.
