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Whom do you write for?

This is a question based on more than your audience. We want to really get specific on who it is that spurred you to action.

After I delve into exactly what I am asking I will share whom I write for.

As authors we spend time creating our ideal reader in our heads and it is a good thing. Writing for a 12-year-old is different than writing for a 40-year-old or 4-year-old. Knowing what they might be interested in (sports, history, movies, etc.) is important.

Here is the bigger question…

Who crossed your mind when you began writing this book?

Was it you? Was it your child, sibling, or a fellow survivor of specific trauma?

Who was it that spurred you on to writing?

Ask yourself this question, but be specific if it was a particular person in your life. Describe them and put that first in your mind when you write.

I began my first novel as a result of two things. My friend, Anne, suggested, “You should write a mystery like the ones you were always reading when we were growing up.”

That was one push towards my book.

The other was my niece, who had a learning issue that made it impossible, or at least really difficult, to learn to read by phonetics. So, she hated reading.

A change of school to one with a different approach opened up her world, but I started my book for her. Because I was the “cool aunt,” I thought she would read it because I wrote it. I wanted to encourage her.

There is also another level that I haven’t really written about until now.

I write for myself. I write for the kids prowling the libraries and bookstores. I write for the 9 year old who was dreadfully lonely after a change of school and neighborhood. I write for the 12 year old who desperately wanted to solve a mystery, and I write for the 14 year old longing for romance and adventure.

I write for me.

Who is it for you?