I think that as a reader I want the story that I am reading, investing considerable time in, to reflect the world I know back at me, but with a kind of value added element (vile phrase) as well, and that can come in the form of insight, entertainment, diversion, or escape. I don't want a simple and direct reflection - that would be the literary equivalent of reality TV - I want to feel I've had some kind of return on my time: perhaps a greater understanding of the people that I've come to know. If the fictional world the author is laying out before me seems alien and the characters are ones I cannot bond with, then I'm not going to make that investment. There's something quite satisfying when you're reading a novel to think I've done that or I know how that feels. It doesn't just affirm your own feelings, it makes the story seem more real, more plausible.
As a writer, setting up this particular relationship between you and the reader, personalising the story for them, is something you need to do fairly early on, to hook them in, so they take ownership of what they're reading. It's part of the writer's job to make the universal seem particular and helping your reader to identify with your characters and their story is a way of making that happen
As we're talking reflections today - and heck it's January, the nights are dark and we all need cheering up - here is a lovely Venetian one...
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