Making a Connection: Writers Need Readers!

♦This post is meant to piggyback my last blog: Is Publication Synonymous with Success?♦

“The writer does want to be published; the painter urgently hopes that someone see the finished canvas…the composer needs his music to be heard. Art is communication, and if there’s no communication it is as though the work has been still-born.

“The reader, viewer, listener, usually grossly underestimate his importance. If a reader cannot create a book along with the writer, the book will never come to life. Creative involvement: that’s the basic difference between reading a book and watching TV. In watching TV we are passive; sponges; we do nothing. In reading we must become creators. Once the child has learned to read alone and can pick up a book without illustrations, he must become a creator, imagining the setting of the story, visualizing the characters, seeing facial expressions, hearing the inflection of voices. The author and the reader “know” each other; they meet on the bridge of words.

“So there is no evading the fact that the artist yearns for success, because that means there has been a communication of the vision: that all the struggle has not been invalid.” Madeleine L’Engle

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Yes, I am the voice of one crying out in the blogosphere…”I am writer, read me published!”

MLE lays out such an eloquent defense for this longing that I am enriched by reading her treatise and assimilating its nuances. If that much truth can be conveyed—and effectively resonate—in just a few paragraphs, what a fresh appreciation I have for the power of words that I may wield within the pages of a book. (“May” as in: might. If I do my homework with due diligence).

Therein lies the rub . . . as not every book or short story we read, or write, has the ability to truly connect. Oh, it might conjure up a vivid image, it may dabble in a few tangible descriptions or clever conversations, but will it “create”? Will what I create cause the person on the other end to create with me? Will it sustain the reader to take the entirety of the journey? Do I need readership to validate my efforts as a writer? DOES A TREE THAT FALLS IN THE FOREST NEED SOMEONE TO HEAR IT MAKE A SOUND??? 🙂

Indubitably, I say!

God could have created a world in shades of grey, with tepid temperatures, monotone sound waves, and bland flavors, but He didn’t. He lavished colors and seasons and sounds and tastes—both bold and subtle. He gave us chartreuse, tropical breezes, the song of morning doves, and watermelon. And when the gifts in nature meld with the gifts the Creator shares with each of us, we get things like plaid kilts, cozy pubs, bag pipes, and beer!

I didn’t even touch on smells, but you get the idea.

How we relate to our work, and how others relate to it matters. Now, I’m not really talking about publication at this point because WHAT we write will largely influence WHO will read it. In the realm of the blogosphere alone there are those that write for a plethora of reasons. One writes to leave a legacy of life’s milestones for her children. Another speaks from the midst of trials to encourage and give hope. Still others review products to help consumers make wise decisions. The motivation is as unique as each person’s voice. Not all of the reasons, nor all the content, lend itself to the bestowal of an ISBN—but each requires an audience!

And when someone (myself, for instance) has a perilous plot burning up her brain, she can’t help but want to bring others along for the ride. Some tales take up a lot more space than a blog, after all. Hence, The Tethered World. 

No, ultimately it’s not about the money (though that’s always appreciated). It’s about that wonderful way that words wander from the cranium, to the fingertips, to a page, to a manuscript, to a book . . . and is then placed on a shelf, picked up by a passerby, perused on the back cover, and consumed with a voracious appetite. All because the reader connected and couldn’t put it down.

That’s what I’m talkin’ about!