tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387052581086893410.post2701373075501926254..comments2023-09-28T10:59:26.381+01:00Comments on Living, writing and other stuff: The writer-reader collaborationBill Kirtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07675643113010061969noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387052581086893410.post-61649745891269444132009-04-08T12:50:00.000+01:002009-04-08T12:50:00.000+01:00Thanks for the comments. I used to 'teach' French ...Thanks for the comments. I used to 'teach' French literature and students sometimes suggested that analysing a text ruined its impact. I know what they mean but I can't agree with them. As the person I mentioned in the blog proved, and as Gary and Jean confirmed, readers can find things in a text of which the writer may have been unaware. Equally, a writer may write something which seems superficial and yet is actually intended to reveal otherwise unspoken truths or effects.<BR/><BR/>The essential thing is to be consistent with one's own themes. If there's coherence and integrity in the work, others will be able to find their own meanings and consistency in it, too.<BR/><BR/>The first of my radio plays to be broadcast taught me that lesson. I wrote it to say certain things about how people react to one another. At rehearsals at the BBC, it was fascinating to hear the director telling actors to say things in particular ways to bring out different meanings of which I was only vaguely aware. And then it was reviewed in The Times and the critic interpreted it in yet another way. Every text is alive and made to relive by each reader.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07675643113010061969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387052581086893410.post-87652889151812987912009-04-07T17:24:00.001+01:002009-04-07T17:24:00.001+01:00I agree. I've had some strange comments from reade...I agree. I've had some strange comments from readers who have questioned my protagonist's integrity, motives, etc. One editor, to whom I had first submitted my manuscript for Diary of Murder, said my protag was reckless and took unnecessary chances. A reviewer recently admired her courage and stick-to-itiveness in solving the murders. So it's always open to interpretation.Jean Henry Meadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08146960738692672013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387052581086893410.post-85677973923090854952009-04-07T17:24:00.000+01:002009-04-07T17:24:00.000+01:00How cool, to know that your writing provoked such ...How cool, to know that your writing provoked such extensive thought on the part of the reader.Kari Lynn Dellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06864636462802149247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387052581086893410.post-68336830649760721332009-04-07T12:37:00.000+01:002009-04-07T12:37:00.000+01:00What I find amusing about this is I had my own sol...What I find amusing about this is I had my own solution when I read Material Evidence, which I also think was logically consistent with all the evidence, even after having read the real end. You must have done a good job keeping everything open to the last second.Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.com