When I look at the same photos on my desktop computer and then on my laptop, the differences in the lighting and coloring often catch my attention. These inconsistencies from screen to screen must be complicating for photographers; their meticulously edited photos appear differently to each viewer and never precisely as the photographer intended.

While thinking about the photos, I realize I recognize this predicament; it is a familiar one. I spend considerable time scrutinizing each of my pieces of writing, ensuring that it reads exactly as I wish and captures my ideas as clearly as I can manage. Yet, while a writer can untangle confusing content and relay an experience so that even the uninitiated can sense it, expecting an absolute universal comprehension of all aspects of a piece is futile. There are as many readings as there are readers, each person interpreting the work through his own experiences and understanding.

Individual perceptions enable writing to elicit emotions and incite actions that may significantly depart from those the writer intends. The opportunity for misunderstanding can become a disadvantage, a limitation. Sometimes, though, these inescapable deviations transform the writing into something more meaningful to the reader, something better. Publishing without knowing what the words will become is permeated with both fear and hope.