This is a casual variation on a reading circle. There is no real obligation to read each others' stories (although many of us do read each others' work already anyway), and no structured weekly discus...
I am so so so sorry for my mammoth comment. I’m basically regurgitating what you guys have already discussed above. Like @lone_cat ’s perspective on writer’s impossible disassociation from their writing, acknowledging reader pov, questioning who we’re writing for, @ThePlumbob ‘s aversion to knowing about authors, knowing your own characters deeply, intrigued by others interpretations, @snuffybucket ‘s views that reader interpretation is a collaborative process between reader and writer, and rarely changing anything from comments. (I especially like that last bit. :) Now you’ve indirectly given me the green light to go ham on your stories and I know that I wont’ hurt your creative process. I will be respectful ofc. Like how respectful I am of Caleb :lol: )
What do you think matters more; the writer's intent for the story or the readers' interpretation? And is that different for simlit specifically? Depending on which direction I’m applying these theories, writer’s intent and reader’s interpretation both matters to me. But if we’re taking this from purely the perspective of the reader and nothing else, I’d say readers’ interpretation triumphs my intent.
I agree with John Green that “Books belong to their readers.” If anyone added my sim characters to their universe, I’m not going to tell them that Curtis’s favourite coffee brew is a specific combination of roasted Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica beans. Or that one of the characters in S2 is pescetarian. If they want their version of Curtis to be the same, sure. But if they want him to like rainbow cake and ride a purple unicorn, that’s awesome too. Imo, readers are free to come up with whatever they want with my characters without me policing over what’s right or wrong.
That isn’t to say that I ignore writer’s intent or that I don’t have a strong idea of my characters. Those examples above are true to my characters. They will do that and respond to events a certain way based on who I think they are. But if readers did not get a particular trait or meaning from my writing, or saw my characters a different way than I do, then that is their ‘Truth’.
Death of the author ties in with my philosophy of life that there are many different interpretations of reality. Each reader has their own construct of reality, so each reader will interpret the story using their own narrative. There is no ‘right’ reality -- no one’s interpretation is better than the other, not even the author because everyone interprets events with their own personalised lenses so the body of writing in question is already skewed.
So in what circumstance is my intent more important than the reader’s since I apply both? To me, writer’s intent is important as the backbone of my writing. My writing must be strong enough to convey the story and characters so that they are able to guide readers in getting to know who they are. My writing must showcase their deepest desires, strengths and flaws. My writing (or pictures since simlit :lol: ) must portray their world vividly. My intent must be strong right at the very beginning to provide the base and clues for others to construct their version of B2W and its characters to be as similar as my own, but it doesn't need to be the same.
So I encourage readers to pen their hypotheses, their predictions or analyses of my characters in my comments. I won’t necessarily agree with them even though most of the time I sound like a Yes man. But that's because their interpretation is valid from their pov. Unless asked, I usually refrain from presenting mine (unless the event touches me deeply and I want to discuss about it). Otherwise, I want to see from another lens instead.
Extra ramblings: *hides* I didn’t use to think like that. If you caught my story in the earlier stages I used Author notes to explain a lot of theoretical concepts or workings of the story. I’ve since erased a lot of it because I decided DotA (Death of the Author, not the game rofl) was more important than my intent, but I have left snippets of my notes because as the video explained, writer’s intent is impossible to be disassociated from writing. Pause the video at 16:22 for Foucault’s slide of questions that debunk DotA.
When I was writing B2W, those same questions plagued me, only modified in the realm of my story. Here they are:
Each character I’ve written are (to me) representative of real people out there with the same challenges and adversities. With what authenticity do I have that I write their story?
With what legitimacy do I write and cast people of color, survivors, victims, the marginalised and taboo parts of society, then say that my background doesn’t matter?
With what authority do I insert parts of my construct of reality into the story, then flip around and say that my views are not important?
I’m forever a fan of DotA. But it would be hypocritical of me not to acknowledge the importance of writer intent because seriously, writer influence is everywhere in their stories (or at least mine). From Grim spewing chaos theory when explaining mortality to Athena, to Scorcher’s subtle push at moral relativism towards Kirino as he descends into madness. I am at every level, conveying something to readers that may or may not be personal to me. And finally, there is purpose in my writing. My writing explores questions I have about love, second chances, morality, loyalty, etc. My writing brings to light the parts of society we don’t talk about. My writing is to heal, to dissect, to understand, to tell a story. So writer intent imo, in this context, becomes the spine of the book and is impossible to disassociate.
On a related note, I empathise and can identify with John Green’s public backlash. I feel the same even without the backlash. And I believe that a part of him wrote Fault in our Stars to heal from the loss of his friend, similarly as I wrote for mine. But the world twisted it into something ugly. Poor guy, no one has done that to me thankfully since I’m doing simlit. I have no doubt that if I were a published author, the validity of my story, my identity and background will be scrutinised to bits. (From the video: “What kind of grown ass man writes s.ex scenes about two dying teenagers?” --> lololol I feel called out bahaha. :joy: )
Anyway, that’s my take on the importance of weighing both DotA and writer intent. I personally apply DotA for reader perspectives and takeaway, but solidify writer’s intent through story telling itself.
P.S - Hence why I'm vocal in comments because I think writers like reader interpretations. I rein it in based on author replies. Some have writers intent dialed to 100% (like I'm definitely not going to comment on Anne Rice’s works after that video haha!) But if I like the story enough and have some form of bond with the writer, I’d just yap whatever comes to mind. I don’t think they’ll take it too badly if we don’t see eye to eye. :lol:
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