About me: I'm an aspiring author, native Missourian living in southern Utah, and wife of a lovely Brit I convinced to hop countries for me. On any day you can catch me reading, writing, snooping bookstores, and taking advantage of the gorgeous outdoors here in St. George. On bad days, you’ll hear me complain about the driving, the scorching sun, and the fact that I’m hungry and can’t eat what I want (I’m also Celiac and on a strict gluten-free diet!)I've been a member of the LDS church for seven years, and was lucky enough to be married in the Salt Lake Temple over two years ago. No kids yet, but I hope you'll still invite me into the Mommy group! :)YOUR AUDIENCE
Today I had a reminder on this topic: For whom do you write? I'm not talking about "writing for yourself", which is, of course, very important. The question we must bear in mind is Who is at the other end of my writing? The reason you're writing and the audience you write for are very similar. Today a friend and reader told me he struggled through the first chapter of a WIP. At first, I was injured, bumming around, even hyperventilating (I tend to be dramatic, too). I searched other opinions, and wondered if all this rewriting had been done in vain. Then someone said, "Who do you write for? What's your target audience?"
I realized the friend with the particular bad critique wasn't in my target audience - a good reason why it hadn't sucked him in as it had others. Questions to bear in mind when writing: What sort of expectations will your audience have? Does your audience have pet peeves or certain writing practices? What is your point of view, or that of your characters? Will your audience disagree with it? What's the reading level of your readers? Are your experiences relatable? Are your character sketches clear? Is the voice consistent and does it suit the genre? *Food for thought that I'll be digesting myself!
I like this post -- it encourages me to consider more the audience I'm writing to, and not just remain in my happy, chocolate eating/WIP writing bubble.
ReplyDeletePS: I'm in Las Vegas, not too far away from St. George! We should do a blog/writer meet up sometime!
I am a big fan of YA, and that is what I write. I don't really know what draws me to the characters so much, but I love that age group. I love writing fantasy, but I am starting a few YA lds fiction books as well. I don't really see a lot of those. Most of them are with characters that are in their twenty's and not married, or are engaged or whatever. I think it would be fun to up the LDS YA books, so more teenagers can read about things that affect them in their lives. Did that make sense? Anyway, that is what I am attempting to do. Take real problems teenagers face today (which are a lot) and write a few books about them. There will be romance, suspense, you know, all that fun stuff!;) Sorry, I am rambling! Great post by the way! It made me think! Obviously...:)
ReplyDeleteTerresa -
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun! Meet ups at the best!
Chantele -
That's a fantastic idea. And I think you're right that there aren't enough LDS YA out there. It makes me smile seeing kids pick up books or with their noses glued to pages. We *should* be making those issues more accessible to our youth. Rock on!
Great post. I agree that it's important to keep your audience in mind, especially if you're writing for the LDS market. You need to understand the market and what is acceptable within that market. Otherwise, your writing will be rejected--not because it isn't good, but because it isn't a fit for that market.
ReplyDeleteGood food for thought.
Love the photos and nicknames.
Fun blog.
I think this post is wonderful! And I totally get where you're coming from. Seriously if one of my brothers read my super girly Jane Austen rewrites and said, "eww... It's really bad" I would so get another opinion. Obviously they wouldn't be my target audience anyway.
ReplyDeleteThanks for filling in! Jenni
Welcome Kristy!! I love all the new writers we are getting to know. I really agree with the audience thing, especially the part about liking it yourself. I can't wait til I write the story that knocks my own socks off!! Everyone else will just be a bonus after that!
ReplyDeleteThanks for filling in for me Kristy. You did an awesome job. Great post. It really got me to thinking about my audience and where I may need to shift the focus of my writing.
ReplyDeleteGreat New Pics ladies. I love them.
Thanks for the lovely comments. :)
ReplyDeleteHope to be back soon!