As writers, we measure our success in many ways such as how we feel about something we have written, by the attention our work gets, any monetary rewards we see, praise or other response from followers and friends. I guess writing is an attention seeking behavior even if we genuinely feel like we write for our own satisfaction. Sometimes the goal is to elicit an emotional response from readers. I especially love emotional responses from readers who laugh or cry.
I became aware last week of 2 readers who told me that my work brought tears to their eyes. One was the mother of one of the Lame Dames. She is the one who lives in Wayne, Maine. Pamela’s mother took an interest in my writing so I emailed her a link. She is obviously very close to the story so I wasn’t surprised by her reaction when I got her return email telling me it brought tears to her eyes. I was moved. I felt that if I can bring about such a strong emotional reaction to a story I am doing something important.
I also gave a link to my website to Rita in the boutique where “I Traded Passion For Fashion”. She later texted me that she was reading my blog and loved it. When I saw her in the shop she was wiping tears from her eyes after finishing “My Sons Pushed My Wheelchair”.
It is hard to know how readers actually respond to our work without direct feedback. I like to imagine I am making people think, laugh, and cry as long as they don’t stay sad for long.
Thank you for reading. :)
