Certainly the above interpretations are correct, but my take on it is that "You have to go through hell to get to heaven".
It refers to the belief that great stories are about people facing a challenge of some sort and overcoming it; many feel that the more daunting the obstacle, the more satisfaction is found in the accomplishment. Ergo, the harsher you are to your protagonists, the more roadblocks they overcome along the way the more the readers cheer for them when they do. Assuming that you've been doing your job right and your readers are empathising with your protagonist.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children
It refers to the belief that great stories are about people facing a challenge of some sort and overcoming it; many feel that the more daunting the obstacle, the more satisfaction is found in the accomplishment. Ergo, the harsher you are to your protagonists, the more roadblocks they overcome along the way the more the readers cheer for them when they do. Assuming that you've been doing your job right and your readers are empathising with your protagonist.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children