Writing Without a Reader is Like Kissing Without a Partner
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One of the guest stops on my Daughter Am I blog tour is the Second Wind Publishing Blog. I talk about a fan letter (well, fan email) I received, and cite a quote by John Cheever, “I can’t write without a reader. It’s precisely like a kiss — you can’t do it alone.”
Many writers don’t consider readers — they write solely for themselves, or at least they say they do — but often as I am writing a passage (or more precisely, after I have written it), I wonder what readers will think. Will they understand my references? Will they find the humor? Is my writing clear enough? I like thinking that perhaps someday a reader will share the product of my mind.
Malcolm R. Campbell, author of Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire responded to my guest post with, “Whether it’s a book, poem, post, review, article or news story, I always hope somebody will say something. One never knows. It’s a slow conversation, so much time having gone by between the moment when something was written and the moment when somebody tells you they found it.”
Such a wonderful description of writing/reading — a slow conversation. I know I’ve read many books where I felt the author and I were having a conversation, silent though it may be. I read and I think about what I read. It’s quite a heady realization that now I am a writer with readers of my own.
If you’re interested in reading the original blog post, you can find it here: Writing Without a Reader is Like a Kiss Without a Partner.
I am also at the D.C. Examiner today: Pat Bertram speaks about her novels and her writing
Today is the last day for the Clue Game at the Simpson Haunted Mansion
Also, this is your last opportunity to leave a comment to win Daughter Am I from: Book Reviews by Bobbie
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Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda says:
Learning by doing.
Writing without a reader does not make sense, but sometimes as writer, you need to do things yourself so that you can learn by doing. I barely agree with you.
Pat Bertram says:
Learning by Doing
You're right, of course. When one is learning how to write, one should concentrate on the learning.
Catherine Nagle says:
A Mighty Purpose!
Dear Pat,
A slow conversation with a "mighty purpose" fulfilled. A communication with another (through our words) remain and continue long after we leave here.
With little writing I have done, I ask those same questions that you have. I consider the reader always! I want the reader to enjoy, understand, gain, and feel as much hope through my stories, as other writers have done for me.
I LOVE the way you expressed this: ""I like thinking that perhaps someday a reader will share the product of my mind."" Beautiful!
Thank you very much for your VERY insightful post.
Truly,
Catherine Nagle
Pat Bertram says:
Thank you!
Catherine, thank you for reading my bloggery. We just proved my point -- we're having a slow conversation, though a blog and a comment are a much faster way of communication than a novel. I hadn't realized it until just now, but so many writers who write only for themselves without ever considering their potential readers end up complaining that no one wants to publish their book. I suppose you can have it both ways, but in the end, if you want to be read, the reader does count.