“Admission” by Danzy Senna
Breaking my silence because I felt something so strongly while reading a story: disapproval. Senna’s story starts off convincingly enough, but by the end of it, one of the conceits became so absurd that I wondered, “Why is Senna doing this? This situation stretches my credulity. Why is she stretching credulity? Is she trying to prove something? What is she proving?”
Eventually, I had some thoughts as to what message Senna was trying to signal with her story, but writers: don’t do that. Don’t let your writing beg the question. I don’t want to have to think, “This writing is bad. Why is it bad? What is the author trying to accomplish?” You’re a writer! Transmit that message directly into my brain! Or better yet, trick me into thinking there is no message, because messages are for high-schoolers.
