Do you think that the best writers write for themselves or for their audience?

Question: Do you think that the best writers write for themselves or for their audience!?

I think the writer Avi once said that to truly write well you must start writing for others instead of for yourself!. Now, to be clear: a person can be writing "for" themselves and still show their material to others or publish it, and even intend (vaguely) to do this all along!. Writing for yourself just means (whether or not you ever end up showing it to anyone) you are writing what you want to write, not thinking of what will interest readers!. I write, and I hardly ever have my readers in mind while writing!. So, your opinions!? I have heard both sides before!. Some writers say you need to totally forget about your critics while writing, other say everyone (regardless of their profession) needs some constructive criticism every now and then!. I especially want the opinions of other people who write (stories, poems, whatever) but you can answer even if you don't fit this category!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I usually write the first several drafts just 'for myself!.' I get writer's stage fright, so to speak, if I think about what others will think of the plot the first few times around until it's a little more polished and more solid in my mind!. Then I go back through and update the beginning, the climax, the ending, et cetera, so it's more 'reader-compatible!.'
Basically, I write for myself, edit for othersWww@QuestionHome@Com

i think it is writing for yourself that achieves the best writing possible

when an author writes for themselves, they want to tell a story, spread a message, express themselves ect!.

J!.K!. Rowling has said that by the last couple of H!.P!. books she was writing them for herself because she needed to tell the story, she needed to tell what happened to the characters or it would haunt her!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

A story has to push *your* buttons before it will have any kind of life!. Write at least one draft for yourself, and then look at it from the perspective of an audience, or show it to a trusted person to get an objective opinion (make sure it's someone who likes or gets the type of work you're trying to create, someone who wouldn't like the most brilliant example of what you've written is not a good judge, even if they have credentials)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think that throughout history the "masters" probably wrote for themselves, because they felt it would be wrong *not* to say what they had to say!. But I doubt many of them were totally oblivious to a possible audience - if you create something beautiful, you want to share it with others, even if this sharing isn't necessarily the primary motivator for creating it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No one has written a good book which solely pleases critics/audience!. If you write just for yourself, your ideas tend to be just the same variation on one main thing!. Plus you get too tied up in it to be able to judge whether your writing is good!.

“A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist!.”
There you go, listen to Nabokov!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think the best writers are the ones that write what needs to be written!. Sometimes its to express their own feelings and thoughts!. Sometimes its to shine a spotlight on a topic that should not be ignored!. I personally write to express things that people think about but would never say aloud!. The darkest part of the mind is a fantastic journey!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

When I write, I want to write what I think sounds best to me, but I also want to write something that an audience would like!. (Check my profile, nearly all my questions are asking for opinions on my writing!) So I'd agree with the first answer: A little of both!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You cannot write for an audience without writing for theirselves first!. Without writing for yourself, you cannot know how to write better or even how you write!.

Writers who write for theirselves are better!. They understand the true purpose of writing!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think the best writers write for themselves!. If they're writing for others they're just writing what they think the public will enjoy!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think the best writers love writing, I am not sure if there purpose really affects their work!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The audience because if an author has nothing to tell the world then why write!. That's my opinion!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i think the best writers write for mostly their audience!.!. and aprt for their love of writing!Www@QuestionHome@Com

i think the best writers write 4 bothWww@QuestionHome@Com

Personally, I write from both perspectives: A writer has to be motivated to finish a story that HE/SHE is inspired to write BUT A writer has to consider writing from the point of view of their potential audience (most writers who are also avid readers are GREAT at this) in order to build a readership!.

General criticism is a great way to collaborate with like minds, but should be more limited to technical feedback (proof-reading for typos, etc!.)!. I would only make an exception if I were to target a group of proofreaders who read specifically for the genre that I wrote for!.!.!.perhaps their feedback may give me an idea of how my readers would receive my work!. And even in this case, I would defer entirely to their opinions!. The world is full of readers with all sorts of tastes!.!.!.these are just a few!

If there is too much subjectivity in this process, the writer's voice can be lost while making changes and corrections!. Most writers (myself included) are not fans of making concessions when it comes to the content of their original ideas!.

Bottom line: If you only write for yourself, then you don't plan to sell your work to anyone else!. If you write only for your audience, there will probably be little to no passion or signature to your work!.

Hope this helps!.!.!.Happy Writing!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I write for others, even those cardboard-bound "books" written as a little kid!.!.!. those were for my parents!.
At college I wrote for the teacher's aides, not for myself!. I wrote a zillion papers for my major, English Lit, and got them done by being sure my knowledge was clearly written for any reader to 'get!.' I wrote imagining a teacher's aide (not a teacher), bored, reading tons of the stuff, so I wrote to get their attention and to state my points quickly and clearly!.

In my former job as a journalist, I wrote for paper's readers, so they'd gain information the way I was trained to cover it!.
That meant the 'five Ws'-- who, what, when, where and why, plus writing it all at the fifth grade level most journalism calls for!.!.!. until you get to the point you are also writing opinion and even argument!. Then writing style changes, but still must remain clear for any reader!.

I wrote short stories for a few magazines, various genres, for readers to enjoy!.
I wrote a play for an acting troupe to use for practice, and so I'd learn to write better dialogue; that's the only time I wrote for myself, for practice-- and it ended out being produced and making more money than I thought a play could-- certainly more than that one should have!.

Everything I write, including this answer, I read over again as if I'd never seen it before, to be sure it can be understood by all kinds of readers!.
If it doesn't seem clear, I try to make it so!.
It's a lot better to do that than get papers back, or stories, or poems, that say on them 'unclear,' or worse!.
Good question; a star for it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The only true writing is that done for yourself!. You must forget the outside world, dig deep down into your soul, and convey the ides that YOU want THEM to read and understand!. Not to say that you can't be successful writing for others, John Grisham has accumulated a fortune with his writing, but I have yet to read anything from his soul!. On the other hand, writers like James Joyce wrote from the soul on most occasions, which is why his work has staying power, why it is still studied today and regarded as true Literature!. A writer must decide when working on a project if he/she wants to entertain, or wants to move people!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

for themselves and for their God: the Word GodWww@QuestionHome@Com