The writer operates at a peculiar crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet. His problem is to find that location. 

—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964), Mystery and Manners, part 2 (1969).

Railway
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How profound is this concept, and how true? 

Flannery O’Connor is one of my favorite writers. A master of the short story, she is famous for blending the gritty and the mysterious into as motley a crew of characters as you’ll ever hope to meet.

If you’ve never read her work, I encourage you to sample her stories. Here’s a link to “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” which is often anthologized.

Have you experienced moments in your own writing where—somehow—the real and the mysterious come together? Tell me about it in a comment!