You Need a Reader
/If you’re a writer, you need a reader.
That may seem dazzlingly obvious, but I’m not talking about the person who may eventually read what you’ve written. I’m talking about someone you have in mind before you begin writing.
I don’t care if you’re a “blogger”, a poet, a novelist, or someone who writes marketing copy. You need a reader. You need someone who is your model, someone who you are writing specifically for. Without this idea of who you’re writing for you might find that you’re writing just for yourself, or worse, for no one at all.
This is something I have heard a couple times in the past, and I have to admit I still don’t have a clear picture of a person or type of person I imagine reading these words I write. Further reflection on this today has me thinking the pursuit of writing for a reader is the first crucial step of refining a writer’s voice.