You
may be right to take the title of this post two ways. The first is asking about
the imaginary audience for one’s words and stories. The second is a ballsy/HUTZPA,
more a challenge than a question, as in— who you imagine is even reading
what you write. 😝
I
will ignore the second, because it’s rude and also fruitless. Whether it is two,
twenty, two thousand or twenty thousand, when writing-- we just can’t know. It
isn’t helpful to creative motivation.
But
the first is relevant.
When
I was twelve, I began writing a diary. Diaries, so many say, are for oneself
only. Mine wasn’t. I addressed all entries to one specific person who was
unlikely to ever read them, but I needed to see this person in my mind when I
wrote.
Later,
in my teens, I always had a person in mind when I wrote a story. But the
person changed from story to story.
When
I began writing in earnest in my late thirties, I visualized no one. It became
clear to me that the person I wrote for was my younger self, the one at the
intended audience’s age.
I
still write my novels for eleven-year-old me, and my picture books-- for
six-year-old me.
No
matter what a writer will tell you, there is someone in their mind when
they write. Otherwise, it is a soulless mechanical exercise using how-to formulas.
Yes, we’ve all encountered those when giving feedback and even, rarely, in
published works.
Like
prayer, real writing is addressing someone. This post is for you. 🙌
4 comments:
I love this Mirka. I'm often writing for a younger version of myself, sometimes for a young friend or even a parent. It's all about making a connection and writing for oneself, in a diary, we meet ourselves, discover what we really think. Thank you for your post <3
It is hard to remember whether I had someone in mind while writing was my livelihood years ago. When it comes to my journals, I am writing only for myself and don’t want anyone else to read those pages. When I used to write for magazines, journals, and newspapers, the audience was, of course, unknown to me. Same with my books. So maybe I was still writing with myself in mind but eager to share with many others. Hearing from readers about the effect my words had was always the greatest satisfaction.
When I'm writing MG novels, I write what I would've liked to read when I was that age.
Writing for magazines is different; you can sort-of figure out who reads it by the ads. And if you don't please the editor, you won't get published.
Interesting. I've never really thought about this. I guess I write with myself in mind.
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