Comments on: When readers get it wrong… https://glendalarke.com/2006/05/when-readers-get-it-wrong_11/ Sat, 13 Mar 2021 10:37:45 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 By: Glenda Larke https://glendalarke.com/2006/05/when-readers-get-it-wrong_11/#comment-25143 Wed, 24 May 2006 04:29:00 +0000 #comment-25143 Very true, Kathleen. As soon as two people say the same thing, I sit up and take notice. I recently had a lightbulb moment with regard to a future book when a second beta reader said, “That part is too short – expand it!” Another had said the same thing and I hadn’t taken much notice…but two? It had me scurrying back to the keyboard.

]]> By: Anonymous https://glendalarke.com/2006/05/when-readers-get-it-wrong_11/#comment-25142 Thu, 18 May 2006 01:29:00 +0000 #comment-25142 How a reader reacts to a book sometimes says more about the reader than the book. But when different readers react the same way… I’m learning to be less subtle, after several people of vastly different tastes read my “quiet horror” piece as “cute” 🙂

]]> By: Glenda Larke https://glendalarke.com/2006/05/when-readers-get-it-wrong_11/#comment-25141 Sun, 14 May 2006 04:51:00 +0000 #comment-25141 Sorry, Kylie, didn’t see that you had signed the earlier post.

Had a giggle about the vegetarians…I think we all have the little quirks that we like to put into our books, especially into our fave protagonist!

]]> By: Anonymous https://glendalarke.com/2006/05/when-readers-get-it-wrong_11/#comment-25140 Sun, 14 May 2006 01:06:00 +0000 #comment-25140 Yes. That is what I have discoverd too. My earlier attempts at writing were directed by ‘the message’. Fortunately my writing has progressed and is now driven by the characters and story. Any message is for the reader to draw out based on their own perceptions.
But I still find many of my characters are vegetarians!

Kylie Seluka

]]> By: Glenda Larke https://glendalarke.com/2006/05/when-readers-get-it-wrong_11/#comment-25139 Sat, 13 May 2006 09:55:00 +0000 #comment-25139 Kendall – I bet she was thrilled as well.

Yes, I get both those moments – both are fine with me, as long as the reader enjoyed the book.

Anon: That’s exactly right. The thing that writers have to watch out for, though, is that they don’t get so carried away with a “message” or an agenda or a belief that it becomes the focus, to the detriment of story.

If a writer wants to preach about anything at all, then they should write non-fiction. If they want to include a message in their fiction, then it should be an integral part of the story and never the focus of it. It’s all about balance…

]]> By: Anonymous https://glendalarke.com/2006/05/when-readers-get-it-wrong_11/#comment-25138 Fri, 12 May 2006 06:45:00 +0000 #comment-25138 I think as readers we are on a journey through a collective creative energy. To move forward, we latch onto the things we need while other things simmer in the subconscious. Writers can and should nuture, push, direct, give pause, even halt the readers through this journey.

Kylie Seluka

]]> By: Anonymous https://glendalarke.com/2006/05/when-readers-get-it-wrong_11/#comment-25137 Thu, 11 May 2006 20:21:00 +0000 #comment-25137 Great post, and I agree. Everyone brings their own baggage to reading (or writing) and everyone takes something a little different away from the experience.

Recently, I was thrilled hear from an author (who I’d e-mailed about her book) that my ‘take’ on her book was pretty much just what she was trying to say. Woo-hoo! I “got it”! But I was surprised, since I generally believe I don’t ‘get’ the deeper stuff an author’s trying to convey. (Maybe I should trust my reading abilities more. 😉

I hope you get the “yes, this person got it!” moments — not just the “woah, that person missed that?!” moments. 😉

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