At What Point in the Writing Process Do You Consider Your Target Audience?

[queenoftheskies]

Some people will probably tell me not to worry about it. I am, of course, still an aspiring writer.

I need to be concerned with writing for myself at this point.

Yes, but...

I've had a couple of interesting experiences with critiques now that I've finally put something out at QnI and OWW.

I have people critiquing me that don't know what I'm talking about. That's kind of discouraging me because it makes me feel like I've failed my reader.

I try to write without info dumping. I assume that my reader will understand some things without being told. But, at what point should I actually stop and research to see if my target audience will really understand?

Or, if--as in this case--I'm writing speculative fiction with some ethnic and pop culture aspects and people critiquing me maybe write mainstream, how much do I need to explain? And, should I worry about whether or not people reading speculative fiction would understand what I'm talking about or not?

Lots of people on my FL write SF, Fantasy, and Horror. Some are artists as well.

If I had a young adult male wanting to break into art, would you understand that it's a difficult task, as is breaking into the writing world? Would worries over talent and inability to attend art school, and the fact that many people failed be explanation enough for you? Or would you need me to explain further?

If I used the terms anime and managa would I need to define them for you? If so, how detailed would the explanation need to be?

Here's why I ask. I fear that, in my writing, maybe I'm taking too many things for granted and that I expect others to know what they are and how they work just because I do.

So, when you write and mention what you consider to be everyday things in passing, do you stop to think that your target audience might not understand what you're talking about?

Or, am I particularly stupid?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I'm having a particularly THICK day today, I guess. But, I'm eager to learn. Does that count?

Comments

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Tomorrow is the day I do OWW reviews. I'll go read your submission with your questions here in mind, and get back to you, would that be okay?

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Oh, THANK YOU. I would appreciate that VERY much!!!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I do consider those things, but not in first draft. That's what revisions and alpha readers are for. Just yesterday one of my extremely sharp, educated, and well-read alpha readers pointed out that she had no idea what I was talking about with something I thought "everybody" knew. (More on this in a later post.) It's definitely worth considering, because writing is about communication, and you have to know with whom you're communicating in order to choose the language correctly. But I don't fuss too much about that in the negative sense in the rough draft form. Mostly I do it in the positive sense, writing towards what I feel someone would enjoy rather than around what I fear they don't know.

[dark-geisha.livejournal.com]

This is somewhat difficult for me to answer since I haven't read your WIP and I'm not a member of those groups so I can't read it.

Honestly though? Based on what you've said and what I can infer, while yes, you don't ever want to confuse your reader, at the same time, I would also take into consideration that a mainstream reader is not necessarily the same thing as a spec fic reader. There's overlap, I'm sure; there always is, but just like I'm not a member of Robert Jordan's target audience and realize this, I am a member of Jacqueline Carey's, which makes it more devastating when I slam her latest offering. Does that make sense?

Another thing is that it depends how deeply you go into the POV. You use the example of defining anime and manga. I can tell you right now that if I were reading a novel and someone explained what those terms meant explicitly, I'd probably laugh under most circumstances. If one of the characters didn't know what it was, I could see it working but that edges towards "As you know, Bob..." territory. I've read novels -- mostly young adult -- that explicitly talk about characters from anime, named manga phonebook anthologies, and talked about shounen ai without any true explanations. Well, maybe the shounen ai was shown when the character opens up a manga to see two guys making out, but you know what I mean. It depends on how it's done and how you'd go about defining those terms.

But if I have two readers -- one who reads only mainstream and one who reads only spec fic, and the first is confused and the second is not, I'd probably seek the opinion of another person to make sure but I'm afraid I'd weight the second reader's opinion more. But if both readers are confused, then there's definitely something going on that needs to be looked at.

Mind you, all that goes flying out the window if you have regular readers who know your writing style and have an idea of what you're going for. In that case, I don't particularly care what sort of stuff they read/write.

This is only in my experience. Your mileage may vary.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Were I you, and worried that some of those critiquing you might be giving you wonky responses because they're not readers of your target genre, then I'd find first readers you feel you can trust -- who read in that genre and who resemble your 'target audience' -- and run the stories past them...

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

Readers with no sense of context are not my target audience. :) IMO, most things can conveyed with context, or just a little well-placed dialogue/character thoughts. As You Know Bob dialogue and infodumping is always worse to me.

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the crit of my prologue!

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome. I loved it and am looking forward to reading the three chapters I downloaded...hopefully at lunch.

I didn't even connect your name to your LJ screen name. I'm having one of those d'uh days. :)

Looking forward to the rest of your novel...

[jmeadows.livejournal.com]

Yeah, dude, what they said.

I think... If you can put it all in context, you shouldn't have a problem. One of the issues I have with some of the OWW critters (and I love most of them, so don't get me wrong!) is that some of them tend to go into writer-reviewer mode. Like--and let's see if I can actually explain this without sounding like a moron--they're thinking too hard.

Really, I mean, when I read books, I don't sit there and tear every little bit apart. When I come to something I don't know, I keep reading because I assume the author will answer the question for me. Or I'll understand because of context. I'm a very trusting reader.

I think the problem is: Other writers sometimes forget to trust the author.

So the question you have to ask yourself is do *you* feel like you are getting the information across? It's okay to ask your readers to be smart and pick up on clues! It is, really! I've seen sooo many stories spoiled because the author has given soooo much information, and made things painfully obvious... becaues one or two critters couldn't get it.

Truly, I think you should find the critters' whose opinions you trust and go with that. Don't be afraid to ignore some advice. It's not all good, and it's not all necessary to what you're trying to do. Some people aren't your target audience, and this is okay.

First you have to write for yourself. There are others like you. They will enjoy your writing. They will understand what you're talking about (this is, of course, assuming you're doing a good job relating the information).

*pets*

[vincam.livejournal.com]

I consider the audience from the get-go.

In general, the rule of thumb is that if you have any doubt of being misunderstood, you should explain. But there are ways to get things across that don't involve infodumping. A word or two here or there, or behavior of the characters can go a long way toward weaving this sort of information into your text. Infodumps as such are never the way to go, no matter how much info needs to be imparted or who the target audience is.

There is also that in any critique you need to take what's useful and leave the rest. If you believe your target audience will get what you write, then you can ignore the suggestion they won't. Just smile, nod, thank them, and move on.

My $.02

[eugie.livejournal.com]

To tell you the truth, I rarely consider my audience at all. The exception is when I'm writing works for younger readers. Then I always have in the back of my mind that I have to avoid certain topics--sex and gore basically. Otherwise, I write as though I'd be reading it. If I bring up a foreign concept or word, I try to put in in a context such that I would understand it if I came across it in a story. But if it's something fairly pop culture like anime that I'm familiar with, I assume it doesn't need clarification. Sometimes my reviewers call me out on things, and if I think they're right I clarify in the rewrite, but I typically trust my instincts. And I think it's better to overestimate one's readers rather than under. People notice and resent it if you talk down to them, but may be inclined to stretch themselves if you give them the benefit of the doubt.