My ‘two-cents-worth’ on Writer/reader relationships:

I heard someone on NPR state that:
“The problem with ‘mental catch’ is that the ball you throw changes in mid-air”
He was talking about writers and speakers and the difficulty of knowing what someone else is hearing/thinking when they ‘receive’ what has been written or spoken. The reader may receive the ‘ball’ in a different form than the writer intends.

I think…
If no one returns the ball, it is much more like practice at a golf range than a game of catch. At a golf range, someone goes out later to retrieve the balls, but the golfer (writer) seldom if ever has the benefit of interaction with those who are out there doing the ‘picking up’.

If we are to grow as writers, we need feedback from readers.
And to grow as thinkers we need to become critical readers; not necessarily meaning that we criticize, but that we do more than decode and absorb words. We must read for the author’s meaning and then deliberate what we’ve read in the context of other author’s works and our own personal experience.

The advantage of blogs
is that the readers have the opportunity to return the ball directly to the writer and to other readers. This can profit both the readers and the writer as the flow of thoughts and ideas expands each person’s understanding. The problem on many blogs, unfortunately, is that some people respond with emotional (and too often rude) retorts rather than with thoughtful responses.
Not here!
My readers are kind and introspective and perhaps a bit shy.
If you would like to respond privately rather than posting comments on the blog, send them to my email: janetmjensen@hotmail.com