I am continuously amazed at how many different responses I get from my writing. In the three essays I have written so far I listen to others talk about the characters, the locations, the clothes and the attitudes of the characters in ways I never intended when I wrote the piece. Often when someone is telling me about my own story, and I get to see the story through their eyes, I realize that what I envisioned in my head, and what the reader took away, are two different visions, and yet the story is still conveyed in the spirit in which I intended. With The Father series I have had people describe Frank as charming, down to earth, blue collar, white collar, quiet, talkative...the list goes on. I have even had people tell me what clothes he was wearing. The funny thing is I never described the clothes Frank wears, other than the leather gloves in the flashback scene. How is this happening? I think I know the answer. My stories create a framework for the reader to apply their own history and influence. In turn this makes the story more real to the reader. If I were to describe every little detail in every scene there would be no doubt about the vision in my head, but the scene would be long and dull. By leaving certain descriptions out I am relying on the reader to provide some of the descriptive information on their own. This makes for a more compelling story because it allows the reader to have a personal interest in the story. This is an incredible discovery. I love hearing how others view the characters and scenes I write. It opens my eyes to other possibilities for my characters and plot lines. Keep the feedback coming! I love every bit of it! - Sean