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intothewood and analect.
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visualwit
Have questions or want to discuss something? Fire away! Want some feedback on a piece of writing you're working on? Post it! Stuck with research, or found a fabulously useful resource others might benefit from? Step up and share!
We expect a level of maturity in our members, but we're open to all genres and levels of experience. Read full details on the comm profile or, if you need help, contact your friendly mods,
intothewood and analect._____________________________
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Date: 2011-10-07 07:30 pm (UTC)Do you believe that establishing a clear and genial relationship with the reader is foremost, or creating words and imagery that you as the author can love?
Well, I think of something like Finnegans Wake, which seems to be a total self indulgence for James Joyce, who not only couldn't give a shit whether readers got it, but most likely was secretly filled with glee at his great private joke. Okay, maybe or maybe not, but it brings me to the point of saying that authors and audiences must be willing to meet at a point somewhere in between - whether that leans toward comprehension or confusion.
I like challenging fiction because it causes me to think, and to me, that's the most important function of any art.
You know, I often think of something Sister Wendy said in an interview - that it's a great comfort to think you're right. And giving a swift glance at something and making a judgement is that superior rush of being right, whether the judgment is good or bad. To be unsure, perhaps uncomfortably unsure, is where the true relationship between the art and the audience comes in. I guess what I want is that type of relationship, whether in my own writing, or in what I read.