Thursday, March 11, 2021

Targeting Readers vs Targeting Enjoyment

Should you write stories you enjoy, or should you try to target a specific audience?  This is the question that has vexed writers since the beginning of time.

I know there are authors who try to write stories for a specific audience, and I’ve never understood how they do it.  I have trouble sometimes figuring out what I’m thinking, let alone what folks who are not me are thinking.  Some folks are great at it, but I don’t happen to be one of them.

But beyond that, I can’t write a story unless I enjoy that story.  I know that many who write to certain audiences enjoy what they write, but if I try to write with a specific audience in mind, I find myself tripping up over whether or not I’m still on the path.  With the sole exception of Wrongful Death, which I enjoyed anyway and really only had to regress in years to my teenage days, I’ve never tried writing with any demographic in mind.  I just wrote stories I wanted to read.  Maybe I’m eclectic and no one else likes what I come up with, but I am not able to write anything decent if I don’t enjoy it.

Am I the only one in this boat?  What I’d really like is to hear from those who write with a particular audience in mind.  How do you tailor your work?  And is it still enjoyable to write?

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