Should You Write for Yourself or Your Readers?
What’s the Debate and Who Wins?
I’ve been thinking about the classic debate writers and those who advise writers engage in about who we should write for — ourselves or our readers. I started researching both sides so I could understand the arguments. I was about 30 minutes into my research when I realized there wasn’t a real debate.
I could not find anyone taking a clear stand on the “write for your readers” side. Sure, there was mention of keeping the reader in mind, making sure you provide value, being clear, and related advice, but no one seemed to say, “forget your own needs and write for an audience.”
It’s disconcerting when you think you know something and then find out you were wrong. Not just wrong but you don’t even know where you got the idea in the first place.
The more I thought about this, the more I wondered how many of us walk around with “facts” in our heads that we gained from little more than the lyrics to a song or the headline from an article we didn’t even read.
As writers, when we trip over such inexplicably obtained knowledge, I think we owe it to ourselves to dig a little deeper.
