This is one of the most subjective forms of writing. What is considered excellent writing by one person may be unreadable to another. The genres seem to be endless: romance, detective, historical, horror, fantasy, science fiction, literary. Whatever the genre, the writing must bring the story to life, usually with action, and action can take the form of dialogue or even what a person is thinking. The story needs to have a narrative arc, which requires that there is a complication that is resolved at the end. No complication, no story. The reader wants to know: what is going to happen next? Truman Capote, one of America's best known writers of the late twentieth century, writes in his preface to his book of stories, Music for Chameleons, that writers often over write to achieve an effect. If a writer chooses words carefully, he states, an effect can be achieved in a sentence or two. A paragraph isn't necessary.