I find it very hard to write in a way that preserves my sense of my own voice and yet at the same time speaks to the reader. A long time ago I used to write a column in an educational journal on Math and Logo. My "mission" was open–inquiry, setting up situations where students could discover patterns, make hypotheses and then test them to see if they were correct. I was one of three columnists, so mine only appeared every third month. The other two entries were much more prosaic - I thought they often represented all that was wrong with typical math teaching. However, looking back, I think by being true to myself, I was not talking to the readers, and I don't think many, if any, teachers used my ideas in their classrooms. Letters to the editor indicated that teachers did use some of the other columnists' ideas.
In writing my short story, Delinquency, I see some of the same pattern. In the draft I read at the Write Stuff meeting it was a 4th draft), I was focused on the telling of the story. The feedback from the meeting has made me think a lot more about listening to the story - what does the reader hear? There was also positive feedback about the voice of the narrator, except a couple of places where it broke down. Both are necessary: what is important to me, and how do I get the reader to visualize or live that importance so it becomes a shared experience.
And then you publish in one way or another, and you relinquish all rights to the meaning of what you have written, as each reader reads into it his or her own interpretation, often ones unanticipated.
Tim
p.s. As is so often true, writing this has been very helpful. A note turned into something much longer.
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2 comments:
By listening to the comments and observations of others, I now understand that each person brings their own experience to what they read. All a writer can do is to create a suggestion in teh mind of the reader and leave them to fill in the inevitable blanks. It's the difference between a movie and an impressionist painting.
Geoff
The matter of intent vs perception is one reason our Write Stuff group is so helpful. It gives the writer a chance to hear how others interpret what you have written. And fix it before it goes to the general reader. But Tim is correct...once it is published, anything is fair game for interpretation.
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