Writing about your own work

One of the most difficult things to do (for me) is to write/talk about my own work.

Doing mainly commissioned work, its not an issue that comes up very often. But now, as I'm trying to move towards doing my own kind of work, the matter comes up every now and then.

A simple thing like writing out a page full of 'Artistic Intent' for an application for funds becomes a mountain to climb. Is it one's orientation in an old world where you only created and others wrote about your work, or something else? I honestly do not have any answers.

What happens is that I feel my story is a story, almost self explanatory, complete in itself, the 'audience' or reader is supposed to 'get it'/ understand it. I think there lies the problem- the vanity of a creator assuming that his work is perfect and he has an ideal audience that appreciates every nuance of its meaning. Yes, I'm exhibiting all the symptoms of a creator's vanity.

The reality of audiences or readers (as the case may be) is very different- where you see a story of a grand conflict of the races, the reader/ audience sees a one night thriller. You do a story of conflict between classes and the audience sees it as a light comedy.  The audience/reader sort of bring their own experience of life and movies and that influences their decisions on your work, as much as your intentions as a 'creator'.

I guess what has to alter is one's notion of an audience, and it has to be said that one can't get everything right about what an audience really 'sees' in a story or a movie.When you're writing/ creating a movie, you try and guess the audience's reaction at each stage, but it actually remains a mystery until the work meets the audience.

And then something magical happens- people laugh, get tense, get excited, exhibit emotions that you only imagined. And in a way the work gets complete with an audience.

I guess this is the problem I have, I need to learn to describe my work simply and clearly to readers, just like the eventual work communicates to an audience. No real answers as to how to do it, but at least I've managed to describe my problem.