Sometimes I think it's easier to write to a narrow audience... it's easier to figure out what they're interested in. I'm writing my "Runaways" book towards an audience that likes reading "Regency"-era stories (early 19th C England), but this is set a bit earlier because the events have to take place during the French Revolution. I think my intended audience will go along with that time frame because the French Revolution set up the big Napoleonic war era of the Regency. I'll just have to make the tone and language connect to what they're used to, I think.
Wide Audience or "niche"?
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Share22019-05-20 03:18:40
For me, when I start trying to write what I think an audience might want, then somehow I lose “my truth” – if you know what I mean? I know this is a harder road to travel, especially when trying to market a musical to potential investors who want to please the audience.
Share32019-05-20 06:06:01
Anita, that's why maybe it's great when you are your own audience-- or like the audience you want to attract-- that you like the sort of story you are writing, that you are the right audience for it, so you know intuitively what the audience wants.
It does help to have conventional taste in a way! I do-- I just tend to like stories that are the sort of stories-- in my niche-- that other readers like. I resonate to the fun popular memes and themes... I like characters who are basically good not evil, and I like a happy-ish ending, and I love certain plot devices like mistaken identity and hidden dark secrets that are revealed late.
Anyway, that's a fortunate occurrence, when we really do like what we're writing for the same reason the eventual audience will! What about you? I know you are writing musicals-- do you basically like the sort of musical you want to write?
This really is a difficulty when authors dislike their own type of story-- if they're writing this story because it's more marketable, for example. There was an agent, I remember, who made a cruel habit of telling writers that they were talented, but if they wanted her to be their agent, they'd have to write xYZ-- whatever type of story was most marketable at that time, like suspense thrillers or books about secret societies or whatever. So several writers stopped writing what they liked and started writing what they thought SHE would like, because she was good at selling books and they wanted her as an agent. I suspect she did quite a bit of harm to several good writers.
Write not what we "know" or think will sell, but the story we'd like to read... that's always a more healthy way!
Share42019-05-20 16:27:13
The musicals / plays that have most inspired me are ones that when I walked out of the theater, I was thinking, I can’t wait to see that again!
Now that I’m thinking about the types of musicals I like, I’m realizing what I like the most are musicals telling stories inspired by true events. A Chorus Line, Jersey Boys, Kinky Boots all tell a story based on real life events.
Which is exactly what my musicals are – stories inspired by real events! I didn’t even connect that what I’m writing is what I like to see at the theater until just now! Aha moment! Thank you!
Share52019-05-21 01:41:12
I was thinking of A Chorus Line, where each of them has their photo and tells their story....
Share62019-05-21 16:34:36
Hmm. The short answer is yes, I'm my target audience. But I'm not my publisher's target, and that's a struggle. I write fluffy books with black characters, and the reality of publishing is that, unless it's what I derisively refer to as "trauma porn," meaning that the BIPOC characters are struggling, beatdown, or ostracized, many publishers haven't been interested in it. I like writing happy, uplifting, race-isn't-a-driving-factor romances, and that's not always an easy sell. It should be, but lo, the stats speak for themselves. That tide is slowly changing, but there's always been a line between me being authentic, and me trying to make it palatable for a wider audience, which tends to believe and expect stereotypes more than reality. So I guess I write for the niche and my editor tries to broaden it somewhat for a wider audience and we fight until we find the right fit for the story. And that changes story to story, or series to series.
Share72019-05-24 00:21:05
I love stories that have a cultural element to them. Any culture! So, that's what I make sure I have in my stories. Plus, it definitely makes writing more fun. I expect my intended audience will enjoy my YA characters going on a quest/adventure that also like the detail about the culture I'm writing about.
Share82019-05-28 13:57:22
Jayce, I like that description! I kind of write fluffy books too-- everything works out, people end up happy, the events aren't too grim or grimy.
It must be hard when there's this sort of expectation that the story should be "serious" in the sense of responding to current events or problems, rather than just inhabiting a world where these people have lives that aren't just political/historically significant! But I think there's a real need for stories that are just stories about these people living their lives without constant reference to wider-world problems.
How do you handle that? Do you have a sense of an audience that would also enjoy that? I'm sure they're out there. It's actually affirmative in a way to say that these people can -- in the midst of all the other stuff-- have lives where love is important, and becoming yourself is important.
Alicia
Share92019-05-28 13:59:58
Elizabeth, exploring culture through YA sounds intriguing! Teens going on quests does open up to an examination of culture, really. They're seeking, and they're emerging from their own culture to examine the new one-- maybe learning about their own culture from experiencing the contrasts of the new one?
Do you have the characters move OUT of their culture during the quest? Are they having to adapt to a new place?
Share102019-06-13 01:15:49
At the moment I'm my own audience. I'm not easy to please. I want a great story. So I'm here to learn how to deliver.
Share112019-07-13 05:37:20
Me too-- I'm pretty hard to please, so I hope if I please myself, most readers will like it too. HOPE.
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