[oats]

I recently saw this as a comment on an article, and I liked it:

My favorite exercise is to write a short story about someone who has just recently lost their closest family member. Never mention the death. This results in a powerful undercurrent of emotion that is the hallmark of all great literature, and most certainly something similar (a manifestation of unresolved conflicts) is what you and your readers are picking up in your own writing. It is there because you are a good writer.