What Cannot Be Unseen: Fail in Writing, and How Writers Can Fix It

So, there’s an arrow in the FedEx logo.

Take your time.

For many people who don’t see negative space well, the arrow may not have ever been apparent. However, some people spot the arrow, and some people will forever see the arrow. They cannot un-see the presence of the arrow.

How does this apply to storytelling? LiveJournal user innerbrat writes:

That’s the gist of the discussion about FedEx arrows so far, and it’s a little divisive; here are the people who see and talk about arrows, and here are the people wrapped up in their arrowless privilege who don’t want to talk about it, thank you. It’s an easy division to make; one group is self-important pompous complain-fetishists, the other ignorant bigots. Nice story, really. It plays to our tendencies to divide the world into ‘us’ and ‘them’ and means we don’t have to reach out to people and actually have a conversation. A pity the world doesn’t really work like that.

The post goes on to discuss the ways one should deal with a situation in which one person observes a bit of fail in a story, and another does not, and how to reconcile the opposing viewpoints. It tackles this both as a reader, and as a writer. Worth a read, I think.

Original Article