No matter how the public at mass views contemporary fiction, for a writer, stories are art. And just like a singer, a dancer, an oil painter or sculptor, a writer waits, with baited breath and shaking hands, for feedback. Unlike auditory or visual arts, books take some digesting. It's not a passive form of entertainment and requires some effort on the part of the reader - I mean, they have to actually read before they can enjoy, and that's more time-consuming than listening to an iPod during a workout.
But for those brave people who read my work, and who then go on to provide me with the most treasured of gifts - feedback - I extend my unending thanks.
It's a cold (not truly cold, but cold for me) day - windy and gray - and I was mulling over a chapter when I received an unexpected message from someone who's read my online fan stories. (Some content I removed for privacy's sake)
Hi, I am relatively new to (*). I only came onto this site as a means of practicing my new hobby, creative writing...Your stories were recommended to me...and I'm so glad she did. They are beautifully written works that have made me laugh and cry in equal measure. You seem to have captured...personalities perfectly and I am hugely impressed.
Thank you so much for brightening up a very rainy, Devon weekend. Good luck with your future career, I expect to see you on the best seller list soon.
Much love
Those sorts of comments, from so many sweet, wonderful readers, made me braver than I would have been.
Keep You is still out there getting its feet wet, but I had some hearsay feedback about it from a third party who I don't know personally, and for which I was grateful. This reader described it as a "beach read", and not "chick lit" or "romance", which, um, yay! She mentioned dialogue and word choice, and all the little details that make me a very happy nerd.
I can only hope the feedback keeps trickling in a little at a time.
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