[stylist] Quote to ponder

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Donna,

It's up to the individual to interpret what they believe this quote is,
though I would agree with your assessment.

Sedaris is not necessarily saying to not be precise and concise with
what you write, but rather, he's noting how people not only will
interpret material based on their individual experiences and knowledge,
but that readers are the ones who ultimately determine if what we write
is worth writing. I may have a story to tell, but if no one else finds
it interesting, I must either find a way in which to make it
interesting, or I must consider a new story. This is the process and
goal for all writers.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter, editor, Slate & Style
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can
satisfy, we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for
another world."
C. S. Lewis

Message: 11
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2013 10:47:47 -0500
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Quote to ponder
Message-ID: <CE290FE199CC4D2B855B55877509A482 at OwnerHP>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Bridgit,
Is he saying that the illusion is the writer's belief that they are
communicating "x" and that the reader, bringing to each work their own
life experiences, gleens "y?" I think that's true, but I still believe
in trying to communicate precisely whatever I'm trying to get across,
but I enjoy the fact that readers get things out of it that I didn't
think I was communicating -- hopefully tangential and not diametrically
opposite. *grin* Donna