avatarAmy Shearn

Summary

The website content provides writing prompts and encourages writers to consider their audience, offering a space for creative exploration and community engagement.

Abstract

This week's writing prompts on the website focus on the importance of the reader in the writing process. The content acknowledges the dual nature of writing for oneself and for an audience, emphasizing the need to connect with readers. It invites writers to reflect on who they write for, whether it's a specific person, a future version of themselves, or a particular group. The prompts encourage writers to engage with their ideal readers, recall literature that has profoundly influenced them, and even write letters to authors who have impacted their lives. Additionally, the website offers practical support for writers, including open writing hours hosted by Harris Sockel and a colleague, where writers can join a community of creators to work on their craft.

Opinions

  • The author suggests that writing for an audience is a complex process that requires balancing personal expression with the reader's perspective.
  • There is a belief that writing can be a form of connection, not just between the writer and the reader but also among writers in a community.
  • The importance of reader engagement is highlighted, with the website providing a platform for writers to share their work and receive feedback.
  • The content expresses that writing prompts can serve as a catalyst for creativity and self-reflection, helping writers to explore new ideas and perspectives.
  • The writer values the impact of literature on personal growth and professional development, citing examples of transformative reading experiences.

WRITE HERE

Writing Prompts: Who Do You Write For?

This week’s writing prompts ask you to consider your reader

Photo: jayk7 / Getty Images

There are as many reasons to write as there are writers. But if you publish your work in any public format, it’s likely that you’re a reader — and that you hope to connect with readers. To me, one of the strangest conundrums of writing is that in order to write, I usually have to pretend no one will ever read what I’m working on — but then in order to make that work succeed, I have to keep to reader in mind. Whoa, right?

So what about you? Who is the person you write for? And as a reader, how do you connect to the things you read?

Need to set aside time to write to these prompts (or to write something else?) My colleague Harris Sockel and I will be hosting open writing hours on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. ET, through March 31. You can use this meeting link to join (the passcode is: Medium).

Please feel free to drop a link in the responses to this post — we want to read your work!

THIS WEEK’S PROMPTS

Your ideal reader

Who do you have in mind when you write? This can be a specific person or a type of person. Maybe you’re a journaller who writes for your own future self. Maybe you’re hoping to write articles for people just starting out in your field. Maybe you’re an aspiring YA novelist who hopes to write a book that the 14-year-old-you needed to read. Who is the reader you most wish to reach?

The life-changing idea

What’s a book or article (or peer-reviewed study or poem or bit of research…) that made you rethink your work/life/self? What part of it really blew your mind?

Dear Writer:

Ever write a letter to an author you admired? If so, what moved you to do so, and did they ever write back? And/or: Write a letter to a writer now. A novelist whose book you love, someone who wrote an essay that seemed to articulate everything you were thinking, the thought leader who penned the article that made you change careers…whoever you wish you could reach out to!

QUESTIONS ABOUT WRITE HERE?

Leave them in the responses and we will try to address them all. Don’t forget to check back here every Monday for new prompts and tips. And check back on Fridays, when we post highlights from creators’ responses to these prompts!

Write Here guidelines and last week’s prompts:

Writehere
Writing
Writing Prompts
Creativity
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