Monday, July 6, 2015

Who Do You Write For? By Linda S. Glaz



So many decisions to be made as you sit down at the keyboard with hundreds of ideas swirling in your brain. Some call them voices trying to escape from head to paper. Others say they are inspiration begging to come out. Whatever the creative beginning, you have decisions to make before you launch your career.
Are you writing romance? Science fiction? Who will be your target group?
Women 18-35. Men 35-50. Married women, young women, older women who want to be young again? Maybe you’d like to write for the new adult market, tackling topics that every high school graduate will face soon enough. Or maybe that frightens you more than Dracula.
Before you can begin, even as a pantser, you need to have some idea where you’ll be going and with whom. For whom.
Yes, I’m a pantser, and I really dislike having constraints placed on me. I want my characters to have the opportunity of developing as they go. Discover halfway through the novel that the original murderer didn’t do it at all. And Robert in no way loves Evelina, even though I had intended for them to marry. So why do I need to know who I’m writing for?
Robert and Evelina will probably have different jobs if I’m writing YA. They might live on another planet if I’m writing science fiction for YA. They will no doubt be widow and widower if I’m writing a romance for women 50 and older.
Who do I write for? Even without constraints, I have to know WHO I am writing for otherwise I will insult and patronize them from beginning to end. Good writing is good writing, and knowing who we will be writing for is paramount to success.

2 comments:

Dale Day said...

If you don't or can't post to please yourself you'll probably come up with something awful. Every story teller (that's what we writers are) speaks to an audience who will know whether or not they enjoy their stories.

Linda Glaz said...

Very true, Dale. Everyone should write what they have in their hearts or it won't mean much. Well said. That being said, they should know who they are telling the story to. Good point, thanks.