The lake of serenity

"The novel, short story, poem and other forms in fiction and non-fiction have a very potent component in common. They must paint, through the skilled knowledge of language, clear images in the reader's mind. Whereas a mediocre film can be brought to vibrant life through the talent and skill of its actors, director, cinematographer and editor - and even elicit emotion through a beautiful soundtrack - writing relies solely on the skill of the writer to captivate the reader, to create for them worlds that never were and characters who've never lived."