Write For You

You hear it all the time, "write for you." But why is it important? Think about this- The very best fiction a writer wrote for someone else is mediocre. I mean the kind of fiction that was written entirely for someone else. Fiction that the author would never read if he hadn’t written it. Don't make that mistake. Write for you.

Good fiction is a part of the writer. It’s an extension of his or her passion for the story. If the writer has no passion for a story, that story becomes nothing more than a plot and characters moving around in a black and white world. It’s the author’s passion that colors that world.

But occasionally that kind of fiction sells and some readers enjoy it. How? They bring their own passion to the story and color the fictional world with their imagination. That’s a good reader.

For a story to succeed, there has to be passion somewhere. The ideal story has equal passion on both sides, but one is enough.

Your Passion is Your Power

You don’t have any control over reader’s passions. The only hope you have of forming a connection with them is to tap into what you love. When you write for you, you write the story you want to read. That means it's also a story that's fun to write.

Sometimes it’s not the kind of story you love to read the most that you’ll be the best at writing. So how do you figure out what kind of story you should write? You have to first figure out what story elements are the most attractive to you.

Publishers and readers will try to peg you down into a genre. People like to categorize thing. Don’t give in to the pressure. If you're going to write for you, you can't feel like your limited to certain stereotypical elements.

Get out a piece of paper or open a blank document on your computer and make a list.

Now look at the list. Next to each of the titles write down the two elements you liked best about that story. Was it romance, action, suspense, futuristic technology, comedy?

See what overlaps. Do all of them have a common thread? One or two of them probably have nothing in common with any of the others. That’s ok. That’s normal. But what you should be focusing on are the elements that repeat themselves the most. Those elements are a good indicator of what you’ll have the most fun writing.

Cram as many of those elements into your next story and see which ones are the most rewarding. Finding what you really love to write will make the writing process more enjoyable for much longer.

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