Knowing Your Audience
09 January 2013
Who are you writing to? If you aspire literary achievement and cannot answer that question, I suggest you sort it out. Okay, now that we have that out of the way, are you writing to your audience or for them? Because if you intend on writing for a specific audience, you need to know what they want. Writing to them shouldn't be option. Readers don't want to be talked down to, they want valuable entertainment.
Teenager girls are the largest group of consumers when it comes to almost every kind of entertainment. This probably does not apply to video games, but it does for books. If you want your book to be widely read: target teenage girls. They decide what is popular. However, there are particular elements that can almost always be found in the novels topping Teen Fiction Charts.
Romance. As a teenage girl, I can testify that romance is essential. Despite whatever long-lingering metaphors, witty humor or thrilling adventures a story contains, without romance, it does not feel complete. Although I like to think of myself as a reasonably practical girl, I sigh over a perfect movie kiss or any one of Mr. Darcy's spell-binding speeches as much as any other teenage girl. Romance does not have to be the theme or prime subject, but it should be an element. Love often provides compelling motive and interesting subplots. Love and romance are part of what makes us human, so it isn't difficult to incorporate.
But teenagers don't just want romance, violence and excitement. Despite what the latest polls and studies indicate: teenagers are not stupid. True, in the past we may have been fooled into reading things that would make sophisticated authors feel as though their brain cells were dying, but there is always an obvious reason for a book's popularity. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer though widely criticized for its poor writing, brought a new exciting element that readily captured teenage girl's attention. Likewise The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was unique, new and different.
Know your audience. I've just told you what teenagers want, but if you write to an older or younger demographic, you'll have to do your own research. Teenagers represent a large fraction of consumers, so if you intend on writing for them remember to include: romance, excitement/violence and something different.
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Knowing Your Audience
Who are you writing to? If you aspire literary achievement and cannot answer that question, I suggest you sort it out. Okay, now that we have that out of the way, are you writing to your audience or for them? Because if you intend on writing for a specific audience, you need to know what they want. Writing to them shouldn't be option. Readers don't want to be talked down to, they want valuable entertainment.
Teenager girls are the largest group of consumers when it comes to almost every kind of entertainment. This probably does not apply to video games, but it does for books. If you want your book to be widely read: target teenage girls. They decide what is popular. However, there are particular elements that can almost always be found in the novels topping Teen Fiction Charts.
Romance. As a teenage girl, I can testify that romance is essential. Despite whatever long-lingering metaphors, witty humor or thrilling adventures a story contains, without romance, it does not feel complete. Although I like to think of myself as a reasonably practical girl, I sigh over a perfect movie kiss or any one of Mr. Darcy's spell-binding speeches as much as any other teenage girl. Romance does not have to be the theme or prime subject, but it should be an element. Love often provides compelling motive and interesting subplots. Love and romance are part of what makes us human, so it isn't difficult to incorporate.
But teenagers don't just want romance, violence and excitement. Despite what the latest polls and studies indicate: teenagers are not stupid. True, in the past we may have been fooled into reading things that would make sophisticated authors feel as though their brain cells were dying, but there is always an obvious reason for a book's popularity. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer though widely criticized for its poor writing, brought a new exciting element that readily captured teenage girl's attention. Likewise The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was unique, new and different.
Know your audience. I've just told you what teenagers want, but if you write to an older or younger demographic, you'll have to do your own research. Teenagers represent a large fraction of consumers, so if you intend on writing for them remember to include: romance, excitement/violence and something different.
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Terribly hard darling to follow your blog when there's no button available! ;)
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