Tuesday 18 January 2011

The Importance of Audience

Cliff Simon
On Sunday afternoon, I listened to an interview with actor Cliff Simon that was recorded sometime in 2009. Amongst the giggle-worthy statements, he came out with something quite profound:
"Without someone watching us, we're not actors."
No matter how good the script, how amibant the lighting, how polished his performance, unless someone's watching then it's wasted.

Discussing this with Lori, I realised that the same applies to me - unless my writing is read, then it's just words on a page. It doesn't live. And I remain a writer.

So this is my belief. That writing doesn't matter, nor editing, nor subbing. Not even being published, though that helps. But it's not until someone picks up my book and reads it that I become an author.

It was that new-found belief that inspired me to take up the Write 1 Sub 1 challenge, and to sub a short story to Tor. I'm going to hold those words in front of me, to remind me of the most basic fact that stories are supposed to be read.

Just like a performance is meant to be watched.

4 comments:

  1. This is a hard truth, in some ways, but I agree. To me it's both scary and wonderful to think about my fiction being read by complete strangers. It's nothing short of magic.

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  2. Well said. All of it.

    And nice pic of Cliff. :D

    Lori

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  3. @Elizabeth - actually I've found it to be a freeing truth. For too long I've worried about hitting word counts and not about writing the story. But it is magic. I love this job!

    @Lori - thanks. And pics of Cliff are always nice :D

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  4. Welcome to the W1S1 party: may your productivity be productive and your thesaurus well-thumbed.

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