My Reader Lives in My Head. Does Yours?

By Amanda Le Rougetel

“Who is your reader?”

I ask this question in two different writing classes and get two different reactions.

The first class receives my question with puzzled looks and silence, then offers a few tentative answers. “Um, my reader is me, I think.” “I write for my own amusement.” “I’ve never really thought about that.”

The second class is more definite. “I don’t think about a reader when I’m writing. I just write the story I want to write.” “I don’t want to be s...