 | Although many of us read for relaxation, our brains are far from passive as we do so. We actively process the words on page or screen through the filter of our own experience. Because everyone is different, we won’t find identical meanings in the same text. |
As an author, I’m delighted when a reader makes a personal connection with my fiction that shows they understand what I set out to say. However, it’s perhaps more rewarding when someone enjoys my story but interprets it in a way I didn’t intend.
That’s when a story feels most alive to me. It doesn’t belong to the author as something fixed and static. A fresh version is co-created between the writer and each individual reader.
Some stories lend themselves to multiple perspectives more than others. One of mine is currently on Marsha Ingrao’s blog and we would love to know what you make of it. The Power of Verticality is the interior monologue of someone receiving a visitor but the precise relationship between the two characters is open to interpretation.
Is one caring for the other and, if so, is there cruelty behind that care? Are they mother and daughter and, if so, who is being visited and who is free to leave?
That’s when a story feels most alive to me. It doesn’t belong to the author as something fixed and static. A fresh version is co-created between the writer and each individual reader.
Some stories lend themselves to multiple perspectives more than others. One of mine is currently on Marsha Ingrao’s blog and we would love to know what you make of it. The Power of Verticality is the interior monologue of someone receiving a visitor but the precise relationship between the two characters is open to interpretation.
Is one caring for the other and, if so, is there cruelty behind that care? Are they mother and daughter and, if so, who is being visited and who is free to leave?
| My 99-word story this week is born out of three factors: the comments on the short story mentioned above; the latest development in the ever-evolving literary community established by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch and my forays into TikTok culture, where building on each other’s creativity is king. The prompt is never ending. Let me know what you think. |  |
Endless sparks of creativity
"I can't share it before it's published, they might pinch my idea."
"How could they? It’s like nicking your big toe."
"Exactly. They'd be taking part of me."
"You could wear your heavy boots so it’s harder to get at."
"Hah bloody hah."
"You're not really worried, are you? What use is your idea to someone else? Like your toe, once they took it, it would be dead."
"They could revive it, like Frankenstein's monster."
"Then it would be a different story. Filtered through their separate minds."
"So I should submit my flash fiction?"
"Of course. Creativity never ends."
"I can't share it before it's published, they might pinch my idea."
"How could they? It’s like nicking your big toe."
"Exactly. They'd be taking part of me."
"You could wear your heavy boots so it’s harder to get at."
"Hah bloody hah."
"You're not really worried, are you? What use is your idea to someone else? Like your toe, once they took it, it would be dead."
"They could revive it, like Frankenstein's monster."
"Then it would be a different story. Filtered through their separate minds."
"So I should submit my flash fiction?"
"Of course. Creativity never ends."
Click on the image to see what I’ve been up to on TikTok lately.
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