tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post2445990290870554815..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: The writer; and the books - Jo Carroll.Katherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-16285835562731756772014-04-25T08:36:21.185+01:002014-04-25T08:36:21.185+01:00Thanks for taking the time to comment on my musing...Thanks for taking the time to comment on my musings - especially Susan and Lee, who have had a lovely time tackling this!JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-40302765255465116392014-04-24T19:38:35.421+01:002014-04-24T19:38:35.421+01:00And Skyline Spirit - hello! Welcome!
And Skyline Spirit - hello! Welcome!<br />Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-6068060703627919812014-04-24T19:38:07.577+01:002014-04-24T19:38:07.577+01:00I think, as so often, Lee, we're closer in agr...I think, as so often, Lee, we're closer in agreement that it seems, and slightly at cross purposes. <br /><br />I'm not much interested in appreciation for its own sake, either - I agree that Mantel's writing is teacher and critic enough, without needing to meet her. And I frequently do ignore the views of friends, agent, publishers... I might listen to them, but ultimately, it's what I want in my writing that counts, tiny and unimportant as my canvas is.<br /><br /> - So far, I think, we agree.<br />But I feel that too much isolation for any artist has to be damaging, as isolation is for all people. Okay, it may push them into greater originality at the beginning - but it will end with them talking to themselves in a corner. The audience is valuable as a sparring partner/sounding board/reality check as much or more than as a source of applause.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-61590665223209822622014-04-24T19:08:55.606+01:002014-04-24T19:08:55.606+01:00pretty nice blog, following :)pretty nice blog, following :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-26842375995807064972014-04-24T17:25:09.309+01:002014-04-24T17:25:09.309+01:00Perhaps it's the appreciation of an audience t...Perhaps it's the appreciation of an audience that spurs you on, Susan, and I do understand that many craftspeople feel this way. I don't happen to be one of them. Or, to be more accurate, like anyone else I enjoy appreciation -- for a moment or two. Perhaps the moment might become five if it were David Mitchell's or Hilary Mantel's appreciation (irony, folks). Otherwise, the only thing that matters to me is their writing, which is teacher and critic enough. In fact, I suspect that if you want to move beyond craftsmanship - which is <i>not</i> to denigrate craftsmanship -- I suspect that you ought to ignore the views of most if not all of your peers. Their fiction is not your fiction.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-54088859864212252242014-04-24T10:33:00.201+01:002014-04-24T10:33:00.201+01:00A beautiful post, Jo. Thank you. It would have bee...A beautiful post, Jo. Thank you. It would have been nice to see your name in the title box.<br /><br />I agree entirely that it is the process that makes the writer. Anyone who finishes even a short story that more or less works - even if it's flawed - has done a difficult thing. If they then go on and improve it, an even more difficult thing. It's the practice that perfects, that makes the writer. So far I'm with you, Lee.<br /><br />But, almost every craft wants, deserves, looks for an audience, for appreciation and encouragement. Think of a craftswoman (or man) making a beautiful cabinet with perfectly fitted doors and beautiful inlays. Partly, even mostly, the artistry is for their own satisfaction - but it's almost certainly made for someone. And it's the appreciation of other craftspeople that spurs the artist on - that makes another think: I want to make something as beautiful as that. Or even, I can do better than that. Or, I can see how to do it differently.<br />It's not exactly competition - or only partly that. It's - here's a phrase I've learned recently - 'peer-to-peer learning.' The other craftspeople in your audience know exactly how difficult it is to achieve some things. They're not dismissive of skill. They understand from the inside out. So their criticism is more valuable than anyone else's.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-26015006488562441962014-04-24T10:14:44.009+01:002014-04-24T10:14:44.009+01:00I heard Orhan Pamuk at the Pietrasanta literature ...I heard Orhan Pamuk at the Pietrasanta literature festival in Italy last year - he was fantastic. Of course it's the process that's important - that thing we create for the reader to re-construct. Lovely post.Kathleen Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645566938871914385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-64030856290623709732014-04-24T09:16:28.426+01:002014-04-24T09:16:28.426+01:00I disagree about readers. Leave them be, for they ...I disagree about readers. Leave them be, for they are perfectly able to look after themselves.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.com