The Reader Connection

The Writer-Reader Connection

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD

Writers and Readers are two sides of the same coin. Both form a whole, and that whole is the currency for the sharing of ideas, emotions, and experiences that benefit both.

Let's explore each side of the coin.

THE WRITER

The Writer is the one who creates the object of the Reader's pleasure. The Writer is the one who gives the story to the reader. Without the Writer, the Reader would miss out on a vicarious experience that would benefit her life. Writers write with readers in mind. Readers often choose books with particular writers in mind. When the two connect, something mysterious occurs.

The famous French author Jean-Paul Sartre wrote that writing "is the joint effort of author and reader which brings upon the scene that concrete and imaginary object which is the work of the mind." So, both writer and reader contribute with their individual minds to the creation of a story. The Writer imagines the story in his mind, while the Reader also imagines the story in his mind. While each story is fundamentally similar, they are different in that both the Writer and the Reader bring to the same story different interpretations and insights.

You've very likely had the experience of imagining what a particular character looks like in a story only to see afterward a picture of the author's image of the character. The two are usually completely different.

This brings us to the Reader side of the coin.

THE READER

Just as the Writer is the giver of the story, the Reader is the recipient of the story. The Reader becomes the beneficiary of the Writer's gift. How?

As the Reader reads the story, the Reader feels the emotions of the characters through the plot. The Reader shares in the emotional experiences the Writer felt while writing the story. When the Reader shares in the emotional experience of the Writer by reading the story, the Reader is giving a gift in return to the Writer. It is the gift of affirmation that the Writer's story accomplished its purpose. It has touched the heart of the Reader, making her life better in some profound way.

The Writer-Reader Connection is a sacred one. Don't take it lightly. Writers often pay a great price to write a story. They sacrifice much in order to carve out time to write. They deal with health challenges, family challenges, financial challenges. Yet, they write because they love the Reader.

Readers also pay a price to read a story. They give of their time and their money. They sacrifice sleep. They give of their hearts and their mind to the Writer's work.

Both deserve our deepest respect. And both are necessary in the feeding of the soul.

Blessings,

MaryAnn