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Do you write for yourself or your readers?
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I honestly just write for myself. I have this crazy selfish need to articulate my innermost thoughts and beliefs while disguising the true meaning in metaphor so that no one can make a charge against me stick. I started out trying to write for my readers and it drove me crazy. I wanted to entertain them, draw them in, but it was hard because some absolutely loved my work and some would criticize the most retarded things about my writing. Things that I didn't even criticize myself for. I am extremely critical and have scraped entire manuscripts because I ended up not liking the book when it was done and yet some readers will just pick something out that they don't like that makes sense to literally no one else on the planet.
I actually became very depressed because like every other author, I'm an artist. I'm sensitive. It's how I'm able to capture emotions and scenes in the written word. I can't not be sensitive. Insensitive people make shitty writers (that's why they tend to be movie critics... Or any kind of critic for that matter). So, I realized that I was getting away from what makes me happy about writing while chasing this fantasy that I was ever going to understand why readers think the most random freaking things about books. I work full time. I write on the side. The money isn't the concern for me. I work because I love what I do. I write because I love doing it. It's my hobby.
So, I decided to cut out the parts of the hobby that made it suck - caring about what readers want and publishers. Publishers suck. They stick to the ideas that are tried and true. The don't innovate. They can often crush the soul of the book. When I work on a book, I pursue it in the angle that makes me feel the best about it. I capture the finest details of my beliefs and thought process and do a lot of sketching. I honestly could not tell you how many books I've sold, what the reviews are like, or what my Amazon ranking is because I just don't give a damn. I publish it because of my own desire to voice my beliefs and feelings and making those things available to anyone who wants to read them.
I don't think my publisher crushed the spirit of my book. She made it better. Stronger. And it's still mine.For those of you who write when you want - wait 'til you have a deadline. :)
To be honest, I write for myself AND others. I write for my own enjoyment, but I focus my writing on things people also will enjoy. Now its not much, but hey, its a wonderful lifestyle I live in.
Sometimes I feel like I am a medium, channeling the stories of spirits or people far away. The story tells itself, and I am merely a conduit. Unfortunately, there are readers who are angered by this. All I can say is that there is not always an HEA, but my characters experience personal growth and positive change during the journey. http://www.amazon.com/Satin-Steel-Rhi...
Abigail wrote: "I don't think my publisher crushed the spirit of my book. She made it better. Stronger. And it's still mine.For those of you who write when you want - wait 'til you have a deadline. :)"
Then yours is a keeper. Most will tell you to scrap scenes, remove characters, or add new ones because that is what is hot at the moment. That's why I dropped out of that scene.
Not all of us are stuck with deadlines. I chose to leave the world of deadlines because it doesn't flow with my art style. I am an artist first and an author second. I don't push through just because someone tells me I have to have something published by a certain date. I deal with deadlines at my job, not with my hobbies.
I used to write for pay, but I didn't like it. I can't force myself through certain thoughts and revelations, they just have to come with time. I don't write to entertain others anymore (not that it's a bad thing to do). It was pretty easy to meet deadlines when I did, but I didn't always like what I was writing. I'd rather take my sweet time and write what I feel and believe deep down in my soul than be rushed and write whatever nonsense comes to mind in the moment (like I do on a regular basis in emails and on forums). And I suppose there are people who are buying my books (or stealing them, whatever) because I still get email from readers (and occasionally letters, oddly enough). Couldn't tell you how many books I'm selling because I don't have the slightest interest in knowing. Others do care and I suppose that would be the normal and logical way to think.
Now that writing is strictly a hobby for me, I'm happy again. There isn't a "correct" methodology to follow to write a book. People approach it differently for different reasons. Some want to entertain, some want to write their opinions, and some want to write something hot to hopefully make a million bucks. I don't think it matters what the motivation is because it doesn't really affect what I do.
/endrandomtangent
Anonymous wrote: "So, I decided to cut out the parts of the hobby that made it suck - caring about what readers want and publishers. Publishers suck. They stick to the ideas that are tried and true. The don't innovate. They can often crush the soul of the book. "Wow. Nothing could be further from my personal experience ...
When I write, I tell myself over and over, "Just tell the story." It's important to me that the story be the focus -- not me, not the audience, but the story. The rest will happen... if it is a good story.
Clive wrote: "I write what I would like to read, and I don't plan the story out too much because if I don't know what's going to happen, then neither should my readers."PAY ATTENTION TO CLIVE. EXCELLENT ADVICE
Anyone writing a novel or short story should pay attention to this post by Clive. The characters sometimes take you on little adventures of their own and that's what really makes the story.
If you pre-plan everything and write that, you're severely limiting your writing experience as well as the reading experience that your readers deserve.
Lawrence wrote: "Anyone writing a novel or short story should pay attention to this post by Clive. The characters sometimes take you on little adventures of their own and that's what really makes the story."I couldn't agree more. One of the characters in In The Eye of The Beholder: A Novel of The Phantom of the Opera started out with a very minor role, but he soon proved to have an unexpected story of his own. That made him a far bigger, more important character than I initially believed. :-)
I love how we all have perfectly legitimate and varied opinions. :)
Sharon wrote: "Lawrence wrote: "Anyone writing a novel or short story should pay attention to this post by Clive. The characters sometimes take you on little adventures of their own and that's what really makes t..."One of mine replied in Latin and I then used it throughout the book everytime he spoke to make him sound educated. He also hired an apprentice - all on his own. I never intended it and the protagonist in the book knew nothing about it.
Do we write these things or do they have a life of their own???
I think I'll go with that theme that I write for myself. . . then edit and publish for my readers. My first (published) book was actually written as much for a particular set of readers as for me (though I enjoyed it all), which is not actually the best approach for publication. There are a couple of Ninja Librarian stories that will never make it beyond the co-workers for whom they were written (not only would no one get the inside jokes, but I might get into trouble).
But now that I'm neck deep in marketing, I'm also realizing the value of doing as I was taught way back when--keeping my audience in mind as I write. Straddling genres is bad enough, but straddling age groups is probably worse.
Martha wrote: "When I write, I tell myself over and over, "Just tell the story." It's important to me that the story be the focus -- not me, not the audience, but the story. The rest will happen... if it is a go..."I completely agree Martha! :)
Hmm..I would say you write for both but more for the reader. The writer themselves know their own work so if they write and wish for others to enjoy their work then they write for the readers. I think those who write series really pertain to readers because the readers are anticipating the next books and they get so involved in the characters and the book that they enjoy it and really take to enjoy the writers work. Again just an opinion. Maybe it depends on what it is though, sometimes you write for yourself other times for a reader but I suppose it could really go either way.
I write for the readers; after all, I know my stories, I don't need to commit them to media for me. I also don't see the point of writing stories if no one reads them.This makes it difficult for me, because so few people buy or read my novels that I have a hard time justifying the idea of continuing to write. I'm writing less and less these days, and eventually, I may give it up altogether and find a new pastime. Bowling, maybe.
It would have to be for myself, at least initially. I began writing because I wanted to, had to. I had read a lot and my imagination was strong from a young age. I had to transfer things to paper. It was an urge that lasted years. I never at that time considered that I might be writing something for someone else to read, or that someone might pay to read it. That came later, with dreams of being a best selling author. Then I grew up and the truck of life ran me over. Now I am 56 and you can still see the tread marks across my forehead. I have written 12ish books. I think the truck had to back over me a couple of times to make me stop. I will get that truck driver one day...
I write for people like myself, but mainly for me. I never dreamed of publishing a book for the world to see, so since day one and even now, my writing has been for me. I don't really have readers so that still remains true but if by any strange chance people want more of my stuff, I would definitely keep them in mind.
I write for myself. I think if I like it my fans will too cause it'll have a bit of my heart in it
It sounds like that truck driver did you a favour David. I have always fooled myself. It was quite an easy thing to do before the cracks appeared and they took me away on a gurney. Now in the padded cell of repressed agression it is easy to believe that even when I quit commercial writing for close to twenty years and concentrated on academic stuff I was always more concerned with whether I liked what I wrote. If I didn't who would? It was the same when I wrote songs. Sometimes a crazy simplistic doodle of a lyric would trip out and my pards loved it but the ones I was most moved by were aays the ones that made the best songs and were better live. They had heart ,soul, balls grits and pieces. In other words if you can write you will churn stuff out but if you want to move people including yourself you have to mean it and you have to like it. But more than anything you need to be your first critic. If it is rubbish, if you are coasting if the words are like polifila go do home decorating.
I would say that during my first draft, I absolutely write for myself and try not to worry too much about a particular audience, etc. It's not until I come to rewriting that I start looking at things as an author AND a reader, and start considering how certain elements of the novel might be coming across.It's interesting because with my first book (which I won't name because otherwise it'll look like I'm trying to advertise..!) I actually changed part of the ending during rewriting, because I thought that the audience wouldn't accept the original one. The first draft ending was much darker and bleaker, and I wanted to include a glimmer of hope. Although in saying that, my decision was based on the fact that I wouldn’t want to read something that ended in that way, and I doubted other people would either – so maybe in a way that does mean I was writing for myself after all and was just assuming that everybody else was like me too (!).
I think it’s important to remain true to what we want to say and write, but at the same time to acknowledge that what we are writing is designed to be read and enjoyed by other people.
I would say that the first draft is all mine – what I want to say and how I want to say it – but from the rewriting stage it has to become more a case of tailoring and adapting things so that the finished novel is as engaging and entertaining as possible.
Clive wrote: "I write what I would like to read, and I don't plan the story out too much because if I don't know what's going to happen, then neither should my readers."Do you start with no plan at all? I usually block something out to ensure the idea has enough stretch, but then I allow it to deviate as it develops. Amazing how often the ideas that fly off the wheel end up looping back into the plot further on down the line.
Andrew wrote: Do you start with no plan ..."My standard mode is to have a big-picture idea of where the story is going, and the details occur as I go. My current novel was written with absolutely zero idea of where it was going. I literally created a new Word doc and started typing. It was so much fun that I decided to do the whole book that way, never knowing what was coming in the next paragraph, much less the next page.
It is also good to write for your intended audience. While these are readers the are a certain type of reader, so if you wrote a horror book or a romance book then your pretty much writing for them whether intended or not which is good though cause there is a following to the genre of your writing. Horror and Romance novels seem to be huge lately so those who write in those genres they are writing for those audience per say.
I started writing The Final Warden for my role-playing friends, a prehistory of the world they used to join me in on weekends many years ago. As the story progressed beyond rough draft stage my audience grew to include my wife, and my father, and more of my own need to see the story told.Now I spend a lot of my free time writing and seeking more people to share in the world I have written. Ultimately I write for them, but as a fan of fantasy, I feel am writing for myself as well.
This is an interesting question. I write adult suspense (dark fiction) and write that for myself first, as if I write something I want to read then I have to believe others will like it too. However, I also write middle grade and this is a kind of fiction I do look at what my readers (8-12) would want to read and the style. To do this I read a lot of middle grade (helps to have a 10 year old!) and I bounce my plots and language past my son. This is a genre that really needs to be targeted to the readers to grab them.
Some books I wrote is just for fun, creativity is flowing so I just write it down, but mostly for myself. Other books I try hard to get readers to enjoy.
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Final Warden (other topics)In The Eye of The Beholder: A Novel of The Phantom of the Opera (other topics)
It varies from day to day, what I'm in the mood for. But I wouldn't force myself to write something, and push it into the marketplace, just because I know that's what people like reading right now. That's dishonest to myself, and dishonest to my potential readers, and could only hurt me in the long run.
Graham