Often, readers lose interest in stories they feel are not authentic. Additionally, readers feel that novels and fictional stories are aimed at children and lack depth. Tim O'Brien argues that entertaining readers of fiction is a most difficult task: "The problem with unsuccessful stories is generally simple: they are boring, a consequence of the imagination's inability to imagine vividly and to render vividly extraordinary human events, or sequences of events, is the hard, intense, daily, endless work of a fiction writer” (Tim O’Brien 623). “How to Tell a Real War Story” by Tim O'Brien examines the correlation between real-life experiences of war and the art of storytelling. In O'Brien's attempt to bridge the gap between fiction and nonfiction, the story's narrator uses language and acts of violence that may be offensive to some. However, some readers agree that Tim O'Brien's "How to Tell a True War Story" would lack authenticity and power without the use of foul language and violence. “How to Tell a True War Story” was filled with...