The Partnership

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"I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel."

-- John le Carré

There is an implied bond between a writer and their reader. The writer offers up a story, whether a short anecdote or a series of novels, and the reader decides whether to partake.

The writer seems to have control in this relationship, but only as far as the reader continues to read and enjoy the story. This relationship has been described as a contract or a covenant, but the term I think best describes it is a partnership.

Definition of a partner from Merriam-Webster's —

Partner:

1 archaic : one that shares : partaker
2 a : one associated with another especially in an action : associate, colleague b : either of two persons who dance together c : one of two or more persons who play together in a game against an opposing side d : a person with whom one shares an intimate relationship : one member of a couple
3 : a member of a partnership especially in a business; also : such membership
4 : one of the heavy timbers that strengthen a ship's deck to support a mast —usually used in plural

You and I - we share together the dance of words, we share the action, we have some business together - it's an intimate relationship.

We support each other and travel into a shared world.

William V. Burns