Writing as a way of communicating

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Recently I heard a writer say in an interview that to him his writing (of fiction) was a way of communicating parts of his intimate self, and that thus to him his readers entered in a form of personal dialogue with him, as they react to his text and hopefully understand (part of) what is written. In the interview he added that he was happy that people sought this interaction by reading his work, but that he in the same time would not want to be present when they read his work, nor relate personally to these readers.

On the one hand the writer hopes to share his communicated thoughts, transmitted by his characters, to his readers. On the other hand he does not seek the reactions provoked. To me writing long has been an interesting means of communication, as one has more distance, can use more time, and can be more precise. I can even say that I would prefer written communication about many topics with friends and family, over real life conversation. To writers, being read, as said by this writer, could be seen as a gift, and in the same time the sharing of his thoughts is probably also something that he sought. It could entail perhaps even a form of intimacy that one would not obtain in real life conversation.

In any case it made me wonder if to me writing (or aspiring to write) signifies a desire to share something with others; be it in a 'safe' and distant way. What I like about writing too is that one can communicate much more of the complexity of situations, and also be more direct or honest; things that can not always work in daily life. This reflexion made that I even think about trying to write a story reflecting some of the complexity of our minds, or the things I struggle with, related to ASS.

In the documentary the makers even mentioned that many persons aspire to write themselves. Reading on this forum for some time, I figure that here too many are writing or are inclined to do so. Even our being here implies I guess that for many of us writing is a suitable way to communicate.

Afterwards the documentary seemed to underline that there was also a sort of disconnection or disengagement of the writer and his text, as if also any conversation concerning its content would not imply a necessary personal exchange following it. The writer in that sense does not address his text to his readers as a tool for verbal conversation, as given the example of the writer of the interview.

Following this line I would be interested if for those of you who write if your texts for you continue to be reflections of parts of you, or if you would see them as momentary fragments or glimpses, that are difficult to access or enter into later on.

I prefer to communicate in writing rather than verbally. I believe that may be true for many Aspies. When I communicate orally, my communications are rather jumbled. But when I write, I can pay more attention to accurately saying what I mean and with great detail. It is just that I am far more proficient at writing than speaking. In speaking any interruption will break my train of thought and prevent me from reaching the conclusion. If I speak, I must prepare a script and be able to respond to any off topic/on topic remarks. I remember preparing a presentation one time (back in the days of viewgraphs - nowadays it might be a powerpoint presentation). I prepared a 30 sheet presentation with 100 sheet set of backups. In the end I had to use all my backups and the presentation lasted for over an hour. I had anticipated all the questions that might be asked and prepared myself.

My writing approach has evolved over the years. Years ago when I was in school, I would begin the process by creating an outline of what I planned to write. Nowadays my approach is radically different. I first enter a brainstorm mode and just write down anything that comes to mind on a subject. It is all jumbled together, a totally incoherent mess. When I have enough material written, then I review the material and let it form an outline and then reorganize the material to fit the outline. Then I obsess with the parts that are missing and concentrate on those areas. It is an extremely fast process. When I start, I do not even know where I am going. It all comes at the end of the process, in the wash.