Basically, thats what I was trying to say. When you write a story, unless you plan to put it in a drawer/hard drive and never let anyone else see it, you MUST at some point think about whoever is eventually going to read it. Even people who write PRIMARILY for themselves must still wonder in the back of their minds what other people might think of it, even if that's only your sister/mum/best friend/teacher. That's thinking of your reader, whether you want to admit it or not. It may even be subconscious, but everyone seeks validation and approval of their work in some form. People who say they don't care about others' opinions are usually kidding themselves or just trying to look cool.
Bravo. Some of the most eloquent works of our history have been subject to similar flames such as those above. That time is long gone. Good riddance.
I completely disagree with this. I don't write for anyone besides myself - if others like it, fantastic. If they don't I'm not going to lose sleep worrying about it. When I write a story I do not think of any readers: I just want to craft a story that I can enjoy if/when I choose to re-read it. And this means it needs to be coherent, have realistic characters, be gripping, have clever twists and have enough back-story in it to be understandable when I come back to it in three year's time. If it isn't then I will keep editing it until it is. It's because I write like this that I do not put limitations on myself or my work. I don't even consciously try to create "likable" characters because, hell, I like rotten characters and that's enough for me. When I start a new project I always tell myself, "No one will ever see this. It's just for me and no one else." Then about 50k in I break that rule when someone asks for an excerpt - although there are still some stories which have not been seen by anyone except me, and they never will be, even though I personally love them. There are some I just don't want to share while there are some I'm less likely to hoard. June 2005~March 2009 I was posting a weekly serial online that had over 2,000 regular readers at it's peak - and I hated every word of that story. I was writing only what I thought (and knew) would please them and it was not what I wanted to see. I can remember one instance, right near the end, where I did something for me: I paired off the MC with her half-brother* and this got complaints. Soon after that I closed it and decided to start writing only what I wanted to see - even linking readers to my blog in case they were interested. Once people saw my new work -- which is the same vain as what I'm writing now: homoerotic; polyamorous; nightlife scene; wannabes; gang warfare; alienation; addiction -- all except a few left. At present, there is only one person I met during that period (2006-ish) who I know still follows my work. And that doesn't bother me one bit. It's by writing a story that appeals to me, instead of writing for someone else, that has brought in new readers - more open-minded readers who're harder to shock. One of my close friends, someone whom I speak to a daily basis, was someone who had already read some of my shorter (newer) pieces and was a follower of my blog by the time we met a year ago. I didn't write with people "like her" in mind, it just turns out that we have the same interests and look for the same thing in a novel. But there are obviously more people out there "like her", and like myself, because my work continues to gain new readers. At no time do I stop and think, "Will they like this?" - I don't even stop to think about anything outside of the story. I know what I want to see and that is what I'll write whether or not it is going to offend anybody. If I don't write what I want then I won't like it - and if I don't like it then why should I write it? It's not like I want to make a career out of this - I just love writing. I'll also add here that I don't "pick" what goes out into the world in full - the people who follow my blog do. If a number of them want to read it then I'll try to make it happen. But, of course, this comes a long time after I've written the story - they were not in my mind at all during the planning and writing stages. * This was also the subject of the first story I wrote for myself in April 2009. It remains incomplete at 185k, but it was so much fun to write. This is one of the stories no one will ever see simply because I'm selfish and want to keep it all for myself.
Very good question. Readers are people like you and me. Let's put ouselves in their shoes and think this even if it is for a split second, that is considered thinking about you reader, how would they react to this or that. After there is no escape that one or two or more will read your stories and one would hope that they would left with something nice about you or themselves.
You and me are not the same. I'd write for people like me, but I wouldn't write for people like you. I wouldn't like to compromise my integrity and write bland prose to avoid 'offending' someone. I don't care if a reader comes away with something 'nice'. I don't care about 'nice'. I care about 'the perception of reality', I aim to shake readers up, change their thinking. You and I don't have the same goals in our writing, so our readers are most likely starkly divergent.
Those who write solely for themselves are their own reader. Personally, I find that rather disappointing, since writing is supposed to be a form of communication. If you're only communicating with yourself or those exactly like you, what's the point? I find it very troubling how many people in this thread are implying that thinking of your readers --and by that I mean readers other than the writer-- is a sin, or is disingenuous, or is perverting the story somehow. Thinking of your readers does not mean pandering to everyone, nor does it mean writing bland prose to avoid offending anyone. It simply means aiming for a target. That target can be as wide or as narrow as you like. I do think of my readers when I write, because I am a storyteller first and a writer second. I wouldn't be an effective storyteller if I never put myself into someone else's shoes and asked (at the very least) "does what I've written make sense." If I only asked this question of myself and those like me, it would be futile. It will always make sense to me. Limiting myself to my worldview might be easier than trying to put myself into someone else's shoes, but failure is a risk I am willing to take in the interests of telling my stories effectively. You can't please everyone. That's not the point. On a long enough timeline, you can't even please yourself. I bet if those who "write only for themselves" looked at their work ten years from now they'd have a whole new outlook on it; they might even hate it. I don't write for myself, (unless I am the target audience of that particular work). I write to whom it may concern. I write to those who I believe will most effectively absorb the story. Not every story is meant for me and like-minded readers.
Not thinking about the readers, for me anyway, is not ignoring them. But if I'm not happy with my story, how can I expect others to be? If I try to 'second-guess' what readers will want, I may take the story down some route that it's really not meant to go. I've been in writing groups where the readers felt a story should go this way or that way instead of the way I wanted it to go. Luckily, I stuck to my guns and those same readers decided they preferred the finished product after all. Had I considered the reader instead of myself, those stories would not have lived up to their potential, and I would have felt like a fake. "To thine own self be true"
Shadowwalker, isn't that in itself 'thinking of your reader'? Even if you decide to go against their wishes and stick to your guns - you considered their opinion. You thought about it. You disagreed with it. That's still keeping their perception in mind. No one ever said you had to PANDER to your reader, just that you THINK about them.
Well, if it was thinking of them, it taught me not to any more I'll listen to my betas, as I said, but they're doing a different type of 'reading'. I don't worry about the audience any more. I write my story the way I think it should be, not the way I think readers might prefer it.
To me, writing is communication, not a concrete version of my internal thoughts, and therefore to me, the readers have to be taken into account. That is, again, to _me_; I'm not saying that it's supposed to be that way for everybody. Communication is two-way, and both sides have to be catered to. My writing needs to (1) be focused on the story that I want to tell or the ideas or information that I want to express, but (2) it needs to be communicated in a way that makes at least some readers willing to take in and understand my communication. Otherwise I'm talking to no one, and I don't consider that communication. I don't need to make a living from writing, so I'm not going to write something that doesn't interest and entertain me just because it might interest and entertain readers. Then again, if there are a dozen things that would interest and entertain me to write about, I see no problem with choosing the one that's most likely to interest and entertain readers. And I try to write in a way that's intended (whether it succeeds or not) to please and engage the reader. But that doesn't mean that I'd change the story elements. For example, I was in a discussion elseforum, in which some female writers were nervous about writing intelligent, strong female characters because they were afraid that those characters would offend male readers. That wouldn't worry me; a reader who is offended by the existence of an intelligent strong female is not one of my readers and never will be. Catering to that taste would take all the fun out of my writing, and, once again, I'm not writing for a living. If I can't find a balance that will allow me to be publishable and still enjoy myself, I just won't get published. (Edited to add: For now, my "readers" are the readers of my blog, and for now, that's just fine.)
I'm currently a writing a story that's aimed specifically at children. It came about from a dream I had a few weeks ago, and I'm half-way through it already. I keep reading chapters to my 10yo daughter who keeps nagging me to read her some more. Hopefully I'll be finished sometime this month. I'm going to pass the finished article to my child's teacher to review for me. We have quite a good relationship and I would have to trust her judgment as she deals with the target reader day in, day out.
Right. I have stories I want to tell, and I'd love for people to hear them. Also, part of the skill and talent (and fun!) involved in writing is the ability to tell stories in a way that others will understand and enjoy. Anybody can put words to paper. That's not an art, or a craft -- putting clear, concise, engaging, even thrilling words to paper is, and, I imagine, the reason we're here is to develop and improve this talent.
The story is my boss, I am its b1tch. If the story is strong, it will hold the readers. If the reader doesn't like it, its birch bark...and birch bark doesn't pay royalties, even if you think its really pretty.
what of Mice and Men? nothing much. I would say his books are very much a picture of himself and how he grew up. It is evident in his writing that his style was mainly directed to those who are more less similar to him and would understand him better.
