authors note

The trick to good writing is illusion of allusion. Readers have to believe that there is truth among a framework of lies. Reality among deception. Natural ingredients in processed food. Real silicon in fake breasts. And so on.

In Jacksonville, where I grew up, we had a neighbor named Jenna Washington. She lived alone with her mother, which is grammatically incorrect, but culturally accepted as a statement nonetheless. Every Tuesday, Ms. Jenna would fry the best damn catfish known to man. She hated being called Ms. Jenna, or Ms. Washington, or Miss, or Mrs., or Ma'am; she always wanted us (my little brother and I) to call her Just Jenna. Momma told us to call her Ms. Jenna regardless. We listened to Momma always.

In Houston, where I would go to visit my grandma some summers, I found some catfish that came close to Ms. Jenna. My grandma, Mimi, had started dating this old joker that looked like a skinny Clint Eastwood and smelled like the river on a hot day. I wasn't too fond of him. I would rather Mimi sit in her rocking chair, staring at a picture of Papa until she fell asleep. But that would just be selfish of me. This old joker though, he cooked a hell of a catfish. Luke Reed. So he got a few measly points in my book. He didn't get a "Mr." though, he got Just Luke. Momma understands.

An illusion is a manipulation of reality. An allusion is an simple mention, a mere detail. Truth be told, I wasn't raised in Jacksonville, nor have I ever been to Houston. There is no Ms. Jenna, nor a Luke Reed that I know of. But the minor fact that Ms. Jenna doesn't like the "Ms.", or that Luke Reed smells like the river, makes them all the more real. Makes them authentic.

Yet, those are just allusions. Details that every good writer must have.

The illusioning allusion here is that I have even the slightest idea to know what good writing is or should be.

who am i to know that?