I’ve had the pleasure of talking with some fans and have enjoyed the back and forth. What I love the most about writing is finding out how another individual interprets what you have written. How many times have you loved a song and thought it was about one thing only to discover it was about something else. A band I like quite a bit called Matchbox 20 put out a song some years back called “3AM”. I thought it was about a woman calling a man and inviting him over for extracurricular activities in the middle of the night. I saw them in concert a few years ago and the lead singer told the audience that it was actually about his terminally ill mother calling at odd hours with strange requests. Man was I off base. I realize after listening to my readers that my words have one meaning when I put them down on paper and often are interpreted totally differently by my audience. At first I thought that maybe I had done something wrong. It turns out that most of the time the readers not only have plausible interpretations but also are excited about their viewpoint. Painters create their works of art and are trying to portray a thought through image. Yet it is rare that 2 people see art the same way. It’s not a bad thing. I think it means that sometimes there is more there than even the artist realizes. Some of the insights relayed to me have been fascinating. The characters are always seen as different than I envisioned when I created and designed them. The interpretations are fun to hear and inspire me to work harder. Characters I never really considered important to the body of the story become fan favorites. Scenes I put in to take the story from point A to point B captivate the readers. Writing is a wonderful profession and I am so grateful to all those who enjoy my work. I am also grateful to those who did not enjoy the works as much. Their criticism has helped me develop into a better writer. I don’t think you ever are done growing as an author. There are always new things to learn and new ideas to express in different ways. If you have any feedback on my work, I would love to hear it. You can reach me at [email protected]. There is also a link on rivalgates.com. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
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