As an author, you must always write your own way, but you must also arouse the mercy of your readers in order to create evergreen True Art.


When you are able to evoke mercy with your words, you are opening up the realm of human connection where no tether was before crafted or in evidence.

Forging that tie between reader and character on the page is how True Art unites us and protects us from the syndrome of the immediate me.

Mercy is a precious commodity because it can only be offered and not forced or willed and while mercy can be rejected, its existence is always pure and healing. 

The difference between grace and mercy is one of sovereignty.  Mercy rules everlasting memory while grace tends the transient body.

You arouse the mercy of your readers by example and expression. 

Sometimes the realities you draw with sentences and form with grammar repulse the body and pollute the mind — but those risks are the inherent merits of a giving and a merciful readership — and, as the creator, you must embrace the danger and make peace with that conflict of the human spirit.

6 Comments

  1. What happens if there’s no mercy? How do you know it’s even there? Quantifiable how?

  2. I think a good author knows if there’s the opportunity for mercy or not. Remember, it can only be offered and not invoked, so you set the table of expectation as an author but only the reader can come through.

  3. So it’s a guessing game. Hard to follow that kind of advice.

  4. If you follow the examples and the advice I give at the end of the article, it isn’t a guessing game at all, Karvain. It becomes a method for allowing a reaction of mercy to come forth and happen in real time. When you write a lot, this sort of effect becomes second nature, but it still needs to be purposely invoked on the page.

  5. I just love the image David…
    Many people write, very few can really “connect”…

  6. Hi Katha!
    Well said! You’re right on point about creating a connection. Sometimes readers do not want to connect and you must find a way to touch them beyond the irrationality of their reasoning. That is a practiced art that doesn’t come easily and it can offend if not properly executed.

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