Leave the Subtext to the Scholars

One thing that bugged me about English classes was when we had to analyze novels. Every teacher has their own interpretation of every great work and they're going to make sure that their students know their personal version.

I love the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff, but when I tried to find out what the moral of the story was, I found that there wasn't one. In fact, there are several different views of the story to choose from. If one story has several interpretations, some of them even opposite in viewpoints, then how can we dare claim that our interpretation is "what the author intended"?

When I write, I rarely intend any kind of point. In fact, I make it a rule to not have a particular message in my stories. I do not write to teach a lesson. I write to inspire thinking. I write to explore a situation. If I want to beat somebody over the head with my opinion, there is no reason to veil it under the guise of a story. All that does is make my message less-clear. That's why I have my essays; they are simple, straight, and to the point (although they occasionally have broader applications in principle).

I love to see people interpret my work. I keep my mouth shut and just listen (which is sometimes not easy). It's amazing how people's ideas vary in scale from the intimate to the grandiose. It shows more about them than it does my own writing (or so I believe). That is how I like it and that is how I'm going to keep writing.

Tell a good story. Leave the subtext to the scholars.