A good story also allows your reader to temporarily step beyond his or her own boundaries. More than anything, it invites the reader to feel what the character feels—and thus to feel less alone, more connected to others, and part of the larger circle of life for that short passage of time during which he or she is absorbed in your words. And that highly desirable, though not always easy-to-attain feeling of enhanced connection to other minds, lives, and souls is something we are all seeking to experience, almost all the time.