When you read something, you're not in touch with the author's emotions, not when they wrote it, and esp not now, long after they wrote it. Emotions are fluid things, and unless you're very careful, it's unlikely that the emotions you are feeling, as you read the piece, are the author's. It would be a remarkable coincidence if they were. They're your feelings.#
It just happened to me on Twitter, someone thought a tweet of mine was rage. I never feel that when I'm writing. Because writing is different, transcribing thoughts and feelings I had long ago. Writing feels very different. Usually I'm laughing out loud if I'm writing something that I really like. Writing is like riding a roller coaster. Often it's an exercise in frustration, but when you get it right, it's a wonderful feeling, it's a joyful act, paradoxically, even when you're writing about something that is far from joyful. #
In this case, I was writing an idea I had in the early 90s, and first wrote about in the mid-90s, at much greater length than in the tweet. In all that time, I've continued to hold the belief that we create each other, that we're a single species, not two. #
Anyway, projection isn't fun, on the receiving end. #
Last update: Wednesday March 9, 2022; 6:05 PM EST.
You know those obnoxious sites that pop up dialogs when they think you're about to leave, asking you to subscribe to their email newsletter? Well that won't do for Scripting News readers who are a discerning lot, very loyal, but that wouldn't last long if I did rude stuff like that. So here I am at the bottom of the page quietly encouraging you to sign up for the nightly email. It's got everything from the previous day on Scripting, plus the contents of the linkblog and who knows what else we'll get in there. People really love it. I wish I had done it sooner. And every email has an unsub link so if you want to get out, you can, easily -- no questions asked, and no follow-ups. Go ahead and do it, you won't be sorry! :-)