The artist's paradox: How specific details can make a story feel universal

Like many readers, I have a favorite novel whose main character bears only the slightest and most superficial resemblance to me ... but who feels like she could be me.

That phenomenon is what writer/editor/teacher Joe Ponepinto describes as a major artistic paradox: that the more specific things are, the more universal they feel.

Ponepinto takes as an example a passage from Breece Pancake’s In the Dry, describing a rural setting, and highlights the scene-specific details that evoke the right emotions even from a lifelong city-slicker. 

His post on writing small for a larger impact is up at Jane Friedman's blog.

Related posts 

• How to let your characters reveal themselves by their observations 

• Editor: Try starting your story at the end