Writing lesson: nobody wants to read your s--t

Bubastes · Jan 5, 2010

Interesting blog post that, IMO, has a lot of merit because it forces you not to take the reader for granted.

When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, your mind becomes powerfully concentrated. You begin to understand that writing/reading is, above all, a transaction. The reader donates his time and attention, which are supremely valuable commodities. In return, you the writer, must give him something worthy of his gift to you.

(bolding mine)

http://blog.stevenpressfield.com/20...ost-important-writing-lession-i-ever-learned/

CaroGirl · Jan 5, 2010

Despite the vulgarity, he has an excellent point and one we should all keep in mind as we set our shit to paper.

Matera the Mad · Jan 5, 2010

Or, as I am fond of saying, "Respect your readers." It's the Golden Rule applied to the writer/reader relationship. Without it, writing is an auto-erotic exercise.

mamaesme · Jan 5, 2010

Or at least write a novel that doesn't a) insult the reader's intelligence, b) have a convoluted and horrible plot, and c) is plagued with 'i'm-better-than-you' characters.

Sorry, fuming over the last two books I've bought (and twenty four dollars wasted). They were horribly written and very static. One was four hundred pages of a who dunit that I figured out within twenty pages when it was suppose to be a romance novel. And the second was a bastardization of Jane Austen, with vampires.

Where did the good writers go?

mscelina · Jan 5, 2010

I always thought of it like this: writing a story is a gift. It's the gift you agonize over at Christmastime, trying to figure out the perfect gift for that perfect someone. It appeals to their tastes, it reflects their personality, it sparks their interest. Once you have the gift, you make the effort to wrap it up perfectly, with the paper creased and crisp and a coordinating bow on top. Then, on the tag, you write: For You, With Love--Celina.

And the best part of it all? It's watching that person open the gift, ripping away the paper and getting excited just at the sight of what you've labored over.

Writing a great story should always be more about the reader than the writer. JMHO, of course, but there you have it.

swvaughn · Jan 5, 2010

Oh, my, I love that man.

I also worked in advertising for <way too many> years, and every other person I worked with had Client's Disease. I can't count the number of times I hung up the phone after another ridiculous interview where I was told, "Just talk about my book, and everyone will instantly want to interview me", and screamed at the dead receiver, "Nobody cares about your book! Especially Oprah!"

I used to be an evil, soulless advertising person, forcing people to buy into things they didn't (and often shouldn't) want. I spun angles, I polished straws, I pulled single strands of quasi-interesting information from reams of crap and wrote misleading words praising that little strand that had little to do with anything I was allegedly promoting.

Those were the days. *wipes away tears of fond reminiscence*

C.M.C. · Jan 5, 2010

It's also a very good case to be made for writing what you damn well want, and not trying to fit your work into a little box you think people want to open.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 5, 2010

Just write the book you want to read and forget everything else.

Chris P · Jan 5, 2010

I recently experienced the stiff reality check of realizing that my books are never going to mean to others what they mean to me. It made me confront the question of why I write in the first place. Both sides of the issue have been presented here; write what you want or write what the reader wants. Is it possible for me (I know others can) to do both? What do I want? What do I need to do to get it? What happens if I don't succeed (the stakes)?

Fippidy-dip, I'm a character in my own novel!

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 5, 2010

I don't understand his point. Why doesn't anyone want to read my shit? If that's truly the case, then why are any of us even bothering to write?

Celia Cyanide · Jan 5, 2010

Shadow_Ferret said:
I don't understand his point. Why doesn't anyone want to read my shit? If that's truly the case, then why are any of us even bothering to write?

Exactly. What if Stephanie Meyer had said, "Nobody wants to read about vampires who aren't scary and don't kill people"? Oh, wait...

StoryG27 · Jan 5, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
Just write the book you want to read and forget everything else.

QFT.

That's what it comes down to for me, I write books I'd want to read. It's really that simple in my mind. If no one else wants to read them then I fail, but I know no other way to write.

Bubastes · Jan 5, 2010

Interesting. What I got out of the article was a bit different. I read it to mean that if you expect the reader to invest their limited time and energy on your writing, respect it. It's not all about you (generic "you") if you're writing to communicate.

icerose · Jan 5, 2010

I think there's plenty of room for balance. First write the book you want, second do everything in your power to make it a book others want to read too by making it the best damn book you can.

backslashbaby · Jan 5, 2010

It sounds similar to something I read a long, long time ago that rings true for me. In writing, the biggest question is "So what?"

So when you write that long infodump and find it thrilling, try to approach it again as a reader, who will very likely say, "So what?!"

Try to stump all the naysayers. Make it interesting as hell. How to do that is the hard part! Boring isn't so hard to see if you really watch for it, OTOH.

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 5, 2010

Celia Cyanide said:
Exactly. What if Stephanie Meyer had said, "Nobody wants to read about vampires who aren't scary and don't kill people"? Oh, wait...

I'm still confused. EVERYONE reads Meyer's shit. Everyone reads Stephen King's shit. Everyone reads Dan Brown's shit. Everyone read's JK Rowlings' shit.

So why wouldn't they read my shit?

What the hell is this guy talking about?

DWSTXS · Jan 5, 2010

He's right. Nobody wants to read my shit.

My answer: Tough shit. I am still going to write. Someday, somebody will read it.

Toothpaste · Jan 5, 2010

Shadow_Ferret said:
I'm still confused. EVERYONE reads Meyer's shit. Everyone reads Stephen King's shit. Everyone reads Dan Brown's shit. Everyone read's JK Rowlings' shit.

So why wouldn't they read my shit?

What the hell is this guy talking about?

Look at it like this. No one is OBLIGATED to read your shit. That's the point. The point is no one owes you anything, and many writers feel that if they just write something well then people will love it. But writers need to remember the market, need to remember they are writing for people.

Maybe it's best to quote this part of the blog:

When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, your mind becomes powerfully concentrated. You begin to understand that writing/reading is, above all, a transaction. The reader donates his time and attention, which are supremely valuable commodities. In return, you the writer, must give him something worthy of his gift to you.

It's basically saying, when you write, don't do it in a vacuum. It's the same argument I make all the time. If you don't respect your audience, if you don't realise that they are giving you their time by choosing to read your work, then why on earth should they respect you.

(btw, this doesn't mean compromise on what you want to write, you can write for a smaller audience, it doesn't have to be a massive Twilight readership grab - but anyone who doesn't at some point when they write think about their audience, in my mind, isn't writing a novel. They're writing a journal)

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 5, 2010

I know no one owes me anything. I also understand that reading is a form of entertainment and there is a ton of other options out there for their time and money.

But I write the kind of stuff I like to read. So my audience is people who enjoy the same things I read and enjoy. I make no pretensions that I'll have any sort of best seller, but I think people will read my shit.

Guess I'd have gotten his message if he hadn't been swearing at me.

JMBlackman · Jan 5, 2010

Toothpaste said:
but anyone who doesn't at some point when they write think about their audience, in my mind, isn't writing a novel. They're writing a journal)

I think that's a really good point.

Of course, you (general you) should write what you want to write how you want to write it, but if you don't think, "will that make sense/be interesting/be entertaining/be moving for someone else?" then, I don't see what the point is in publishing.

XxDethmetalxX · Jan 5, 2010

Why wouldn't anyone want to read about God discussing philosophy with a giant cockroach, or clockwork robot uprisings?

I'm with with the ferret: if people will read Meyer's shit (a pretty fitting descriptor), then someone, somewhere, will want to read my shit.

Exir · Jan 5, 2010

Wow. Great blog post.

LOG · Jan 5, 2010

When you, the student writer, understand that nobody wants to read your shit, you develop empathy.

No, no, not really.
I don't give a flipping roaches tarsus if people really fall in love with my book. First and foremost, I write the story for MY sake. Writing for the sake of others is the business of the journalist. When a writer seeks to write only what they believe their readers want, in a manner that they can understand, they cease to inspire. Because the one thing people really want is creativity. Besides, the variation of psyche between the people of the world ensures that attempting to stand in the shoes of the audience is futile, since you are still a writer looking on your own work. Some people can handle Tolkien, some can't. That's not just Tolkien's style, it's a trait of human beings.
I will write the book so it can be understood. I will not write in an attempt to cater to the reader.
If I don't love my work because it's mine, then I might as well throw the computer into the swamp right now.

scarletpeaches · Jan 5, 2010

LOG said:
No, no, not really.
I don't give a flipping roaches tarsus if people really fall in love with my book. First and foremost, I write the story for MY sake. Writing for the sake of others is the business of the journalist.

No, it's the business of any writer who expects anyone to give up their time, money and effort for the sake of the book.

LOG said:
When a writer seeks to write only what they believe their readers want, they cease to inspire.

Who says keeping the reader in mind means you write only what they want?

LOG said:
If I don't love my work because it's mine, then I might as well throw the computer into the swamp right now.

I think people misunderstand the OP.

Simple answer? Don't write shit.

And quit moaning. (Not you, I mean people in general).

If people don't want to read your shit and you don't understand why, give up. The world doesn't owe you a readership.

megan_d · Jan 5, 2010

LOG said:
No, no, not really.
I don't give a flipping roaches tarsus if people really fall in love with my book. First and foremost, I write the story for MY sake.

But you still want people to give you money in exchange for your book, yes?

Writing lesson: nobody wants to read your s--t

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