A complicated dynamic …

… A.B. Yehoshua, Author of Mr. Mani, on the Limits of Imagination | Word Craft - WSJ.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A powerful imagination can become a liability, if a writer tries to surprise the reader at every turn, to confront him with outlandish situations, to use coincidence to drive the plot. The reader may be entertained, but can also lose faith in the seriousness of the work, and in most cases will find it hard to assimilate it into his own world, as one does with classic works.