Writing for _____?

Day 7 of 31: 200 Words-a-Day Challenge

Welcome, returners and first-timers, to our challenge: at least 200 words a day for 31 days. Each day begins with my micro-essay, which leads into a related prompt… if you need it. You might want to write about something else entirely, and that’s perfectly fine. The point is two-fold: (1) write 200 words, more if you need to, (2) share.

This challenge gives you a place to dip your toe into the sharing space. If you choose to play along with me, share what you’ve written in the comments below.

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Writing for ______?

Looking back on my writing past—the fiction I’ve done on my own and the business writing I’ve been paid to do, what I’ve shared and what I haven’t—I recognize that I’ve written mostly for a reading eye other than my own.

I’m not happy about this revelation.

Most of my corporate career, I wrote for other people; the topics were largely dictated by higher-ups and had to be written in a way that would appeal or could be easily digested. Ad copy had to draw in customers. Research had to be distilled to an understandable level. Newsletters required material relevant to readers. All of it was intentionally tailored for a specific, intended audience.

I thought when I wrote fiction, however, that I was writing for myself, writing what I wanted to write in the ways I wanted to write it. As long as I bought into that belief, the writing felt expansive, liberating, just for me.

That illusion is falling away. In recent weeks, I’ve come to see how I’ve always written as if someone is bound to read it and judge. I’ve written in a way that people in my sphere won’t find too objectionable. I’ve equivocated, held back, not taken too many chances. I’ve always written for a reading, judging eye.

That corporate training to always consider the audience is deeply entrenched.

It’s a valid point that if a writer is going to successfully sell books, they must write what readers want. There is a term: writing to market. Many writers do that with ease. They follow trends and they enjoy it.

I wish I could. But I’m learning that I cannot—consciously or subconsciously—continue to write with the reader as the ultimate focus. Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I want readers. I want to sell my novel when it’s finished. But writing to market feels like it has compromises I’m unwilling to make.

Let me be clear that I am not judging any writer who takes this approach. I’m simply acknowledging what it would feel like for me.

Is the universe expansive enough to provide me with readers who have an interest in what I’m interested in writing about, readers who will be drawn to my stories and want to explore the same things I do? I’ll never know unless I try.

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Your Prompt / Day 7 of 31

Does the thought of having readers affect the way you write? In what ways? Do you wonder, as you write, what readers will think? Or do you write whatever you want without concerns for how it might be received?

Share your response to the prompt, or at least 200 words about any topic that’s on your mind, in comments or Notes. Write. [Muster Courage.] Share. Done!

Thanks for playing along with me! Please invite your friends.