interpretive journeys

Still here. Still writing a tonne of poetry.  I came across this little pearl the other day while I was spring cleaning (acknowledging I have missed the Spring by a few months).  

It reminded me a lot of just how much of my writing (and for authors generally) is interpreted in ways way beyond the intent of my words, no matter how many footnotes are included in published material. I know what I wrote and why I wrote it and, if asked, I will explain the source of my inspiration beyond what is already there, including sometimes explanations in footnotes and caveats. I don't begrudge different interpretations of my work - in fact, it tells me a lot about the reader and the way they view the world.  But seeing those differences does lead me to reflect on whether I could have written a piece differently and chosen different words to explain my ideas.  The reality is that I cannot rely on readers to have read any footnotes or even understood any caveats expressed. I can learn though from their different interpretations and use those insights to improve how I structure and present my ideas in the future - to canvass my narrative more effectively.  It is a lesson on reader perspective to consider improving my writing.

I have one "unknown" narrator in my Panopticon series - first book in that series - the Recidivist - who not a single reader has interpreted the way I intended it to be interpreted. It seems so obvious to me given the overarching theme of the series, and yet, everyone sees this mystery character differently. That is was one of my favourite characters in the book is by the by - one day someone will figure it out.  

Interpretative journeys can pack a punch in verbal communication as well.  Being an open and direct person - I say what I think and feel with limited filters. So very Gen X. And I've never been any good at reading between the lines (sub-text) either. I suspect it may be in part a product of English not being my native tongue. It has taken me years of writing to craft characters that speak with realism and all the nuance that comes with that in drafting conversations included in my fiction novels - and my editor still believes this is my weakest writing skill.  Beyond the writing itself, there is a certain irony that, while I can draft with subtlety, I tend to miss completely nuance in indirect language when I read others' prose and when someone is speaking to me in person. 

For now, I am trying to figure out how to be effective for my next writing task. I have to write two teenager perspectives in the second half of the Peithosian Legacy novel which I am drafting at the moment.  My brain is already hurting over that prospect.