Forget About Your Ideal Reader. Write For Yourself First, And You'll Find The Right Reader.
Art For Art's Sake: Vol 2 Part 11
I hate the writing advice, "Identify Your Ideal Reader."
If you are a content creator with the eventual aim of selling a service/product (even if you don't have one at the moment), then that advice will work for you.
But if you want to create art, for its own sake, and share it with the world, that advice doesn't work.
At least, it doesn't work for me.
As I have mentioned before, I failed to figure out my ideal reader because I am not an ideal reader for any author.
I love cosy mysteries and don't mind police procedurals. I enjoy thrillers and suspense as well. I love action movies (John Wick - Ethan Hunt fan here). Occasionally, I don't mind light science fiction or historical fiction. And yes, I believe in rebirths, ancient mysteries, the supernatural, and superheroes.
So now (and I am repeating this word-to-word because it's worth it), if I were to imagine Agatha Christie doing one of those ideal reader worksheets, she wouldn't put my name on there. And yet, I devour her books like a piece of Belgian chocolate cake.
Last month, I had a conversation with my painter-sketch artist uncle, where he was explaining his process and preparation for creating sketches for an exhibition he had around the corner.
During that conversation, I realised that my uncle never sketches with the audience in mind. Unless commissioned, he always sketches or paints what he feels inspired to. This reminded me of another similar thought that comes back to me repeatedly.
Artists, true artists, create what they want to create. What their artist soul wants to create. They create what brings value to them, what brings joy to them. They create what gives them a space to self-express.
And when they do that, the right audience finds value and joy and solace too.
The general writing advice of the days we live in now will always ask you to worry about the audience and trends. When we do that, what ends up happening is we start creating work that's bland, easily forgettable, easily replaceable. But when we create from our heart, it'll touch hearts beyond your years and your imagination.
Forget about the "ideal" reader. Write what your heart wants to speak. And you'll find the right reader.
