What is Rapport and How Does it Relate to Writing?

Rapport is a relationship that you build with someone and it is based on mutual trust. Building a rapport is when people engage in activities or writing that fosters that trust. Authors are successful when they are able to build a rapport with a reader. If you don't trust what the author is telling you, why would you even be reading their material? Some authors are better at building a rapport with readers then others.

I have felt a strong rapport with the writer Elizabeth Berg. Her books accompany the reader while exploring and building relationships with the characters of the book. Ms. Berg does not jump around or leave you questioning a character's intent/place in the story. She often gives you an etiology of the characters so you know why they do what they do. This is an important factor in having a good rapport with readers. All of these qualities have made me feel a strong rapport with her and her writings. When I read her books I feel I am sitting right next to her and she is sharing her deepest thoughts and I can do the same.

Mary Higgins Clark is a writer I do not have a strong rapport with. For me I feel that as a reader I am jumping right into the story without knowing much. This causes frustration and sometimes misunderstanding because I do not know what is going on. The characters can seem shallow and almost a stranger at the end of a book. As a reader I want an intimate relationship with each and every character that plays a major role in the story.

The difference between the two writers is large because they have two totally different styles of writing. Elizabeth Berg wants her readers to know all the characters intimately while Marry H. Clark gives her readers just enough information and not much more. Ms. Clark tends to write more about the plot of the story then the role of the characters have in the story.

To build rapport with a reader you need to build a relationship. As a writer you build that relationship by drawing the reader in and letting them know all you know. The reader needs to feel like they are sitting write next to versus thinking what isnt she/he telling me. A good writer will make a reader feel like part of the story, not someone observing the story. Writers have to share feelings and be vulnerable not secretive; characters need to be well developed.