Considering the Audience

Considering the Audience “I dont have an audience; I have a set of standards.” â€"Don DeLillo Do you consider your audience when youre writing? I occasionally hear a version of this question from students in my writing class. The answer, however, is not as simple as one might think. My first inclination is to reply, “No.” But that’s not entirely true: if I’m being honest with myself, ultimately the answer is both yes and  no. No because I am not a demographer: I don’t attempt to craft a message for 35â€"55-year-old white females or high school sophomores with divorced parents (though both demographics visit our website). Nor do I attempt to craft a message to appeal to the largest audience: doing so will result in a poorly crafted product. Constantly worrying about what others might  think is futileâ€"and can translate into disingenuousness in your work. Hence why we removed comments from our website: we didn’t want to cater our message to the 0.1% of naysayers trolling the comment threads. Yes because when I consider the readers, they look like me. Not that they’re 30-something-year-old, 6’2? , white males, but I assume my audience thinks  much like me: open-minded, inquisitive, introspective. My typical readers struggle with important life issues, just like me. They’re inherently flawed, just like me. These are the points where we connect with one another. Thus, I don’t attempt to craft a message that will appeal to all: I simply write for youâ€"someone who thinks like me. We will disagree occasionallyâ€"even I disagree with myself at timesâ€"but we’re receptive to new ideas, and we’re willing to change our minds. There are obvious examples in which this method of creation will not workâ€"diapers, medications, computersâ€"but for many creative types, it’s best to consider yourself the audience: despite our differences, there are millions of people just like me and you. Subscribe to The Minimalists via email.