To Be Invisible

Today I read a story on Yahoo! about Liu Bolin, a Chinese artist who likes to make himself invisible in his art -- literally.  He's a painter and paints himself to match a particular location, turning himself into a living sculpture.  He positions himself nearly invisibly and then takes a photo.  Some of them are really fun, but some gave me quite a haunting feeling.  A slide show of his art accompanies the Yahoo! article or you can go to Eli Klein Fine Art to see the full collection of his work.  It's really amazing.

I think there are times when all of us feel that we aren't seen in the world and usually that's not a good feeling.

Not so with writing.

In our works of fiction, isn't that what we seek?  We (the writers) don't want to be seen; we want readers to see the characters, their stories, and the settings.  If we make an appearance before the picture and author bio at the end of the book, it's not only a reflection on our craftsmanship, but it can be very jarring for the reader and they may loose whatever connection they may have had with the story.  Somehow we need to disappear into the world on the page and become as invisible as possible, just as Liu Bolin was able to do in his photos -- and in some of those I really had to look closely.

I'm very grateful for the resources available to help me try to disappear.  My critique group, conferences, books (fiction or non-fiction) which make me think about writing techniques - what works and what doesn't, and shared experiences from other writers and readers.  There are so many things out there that can help us become better at our craft.  What do you feel helps you become invisible?