The closest I had come to sharing my work with my peers was trading papers in english class and doing peer edits. To be honest, this was not usually beneficial for me; at most, my buddy would add unnecessary commas or cross out good words and add horrible synonyms. Sometimes they even crossed out good words and added ones that didn't actually make sense. I got really good at ignoring peer edits.
So imagine my dismay when I have to humbly present the largest piece of work I have ever written to twelve very intelligent, very good writers full of wonderful things to say. Their praises were a huge ego boost, but their critiques crushed my soul! How could they not understand that scene?? The language was beautiful!
Overall, though, the experience was rather eye-opening. I realized that one of my largest problems as a writer is taking what's in my head and putting it down on the paper. I often forget that the reader is READING the story and doesn't start with it in their head to begin with like I do. I need to explain the motives of my characters better so that their actions don't appear to come out of left field.
So, I learned some things that I probably wouldn't have figured out for myself. Here's to the power of collaboration.
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I like your bewilderment over your readers' thickness despite beautiful language. It's an important point for writers to remember that communication is a multi-layered process. I love your point about the reader not starting w the story in his/her head. EVEN though it's obvious, it doesn't go without saying. Every writer must continually be reminded of this. Having a reader IS a humbling experience, but it's also essential to communication, no? A sort of Catch 22.
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