Candice LandauLast Updated on October 28, 2024 by Candice Landau
When I was 14, I wrote Harry Potter fanfiction. I published a chapter about once a week and then waited with bated breath for the comments. They trickled in slowly, but consistently. At first I couldn’t believe it. People wanted to read my story! They were actually enjoying it. They empathized with my characters, they wanted to know what happened next. Soon, I was writing not because I loved Harry Potter, but because I had a captive audience, and because I couldn’t wait for their reactions.
It became easier to write because I knew there were people who were going to read what I published. I felt like I had a sense of purpose. I felt appreciated. Since then I’ve realized the importance of an audience, regardless of what you’re putting out into the world. It’s the biggest motivator of all. If you don’t have an audience, what are you writing for? Who are you painting for? What are you working for? Maybe it’s therapeutic in its own right, but I’m willing to bet that if you find that audience, you’re going to have a whole lot more fun.
I was reminded of the “all-important audience” last night when I was reading How to Blog a Book by Nina Amir. In chapter 2 she says:
“Why do writers write? Some might answer, ‘Because they must.’ I believe writers write because they want someone to read what they’ve written. They write because they want to touch someone with their words. They write because they want to reach out through their work and make others cry, laugh, learn something, be transformed, feel inspired, or in some way relate to their own experiences. They write to take readers on a journey, transport them into another world, or show a slice of life. They write to help people and to share what they know.”
Ironically, just the night before I’d been reading one of Maggie Stiefvater’s blog posts and she’d said almost the exact same thing:
“I’ve met people who really and truly are purely writers. They write for themselves. They construct elaborate journals only for their own eyes. They would continue writing even if they never got a word published. I am not that person. I write for an audience. For the reaction. To change people’s moods and hearts. And if I couldn’t write words, I’d tell stories in another way. I’d compose music or paint images or get into stand-up comedy to continue telling stories. For me, the equation isn’t complete until I’ve solved for audience.”
What a strange coincidence! The “all-important audience” is a good reminder for any writer looking to test and get feedback on their ideas instead of waiting months or even years for a book they wrote to publish.
