Philip Winestone wrote:
That's a little like: "Sincerity is a great selling tool; if you can fake sincerity you've got it made."
It is a little like that. But I think it is more like saying that a great actor can imitate any emotion, even if he does not actually feel it at the moment.
A good writer gives the impression of light hearted, effortless spontaneity, even though most labor mightily to achieve that effect. Why should the reader care? Is the effect you want; it makes no difference how it came about. What harm is there to artifice?
In China and Japan, many great classical ink paintings and calligraphy scrolls were probably "dashed off" in 10 or 15 minutes. Some of them consist only a few strokes. They appear to be spontaneous, and in a sense they are, but they are also the result of many years of practice and fabulous craftsmanship.
- Jed
