It has become a cliche in the writing community that if you want to be a writer, you need to write. Ask a writer how to become a writer and the answer is always the same: write.<\/p>\n
If you’re like me, though, there’s a problem with that. As much as I love writing, I need an audience. I need to be writing for someone. I’ve never been able to write for myself. I realize that this is different from a lot of people. Most writers I talk to will say things like “I write for myself” and “I don’t care if other people don’t read it.” That’s not me. I write for a very specific purpose: to be read.<\/p>\n
It was a chicken-egg sort of problem: my passion for writing is fueled by having an audience, but I couldn’t have an audience until I started writing. <\/span><\/p>\n That’s the kind of frustration that can make you want to give up. <\/span><\/p>\n Don’t. Instead, focus on the stories.<\/span><\/p>\n In my case, I started writing stories about my life as a dad. I didn’t do it as an exercise in writing, or to improve my craft, or anything like that. I just wanted to tell stories.\u00a0Along the way, of course, I worked on my craft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n About a year later, I pitched the stories as an idea for a column to the Seminole Chronicle. They said yes.<\/p>\n Suddenly, I had an audience.<\/p>\n That’s when I had my Field of Dreams moment: “if you build it, they will come.”<\/p>\n Focus on the story first, and the audience will come. At the beginning, your audience might be your writing group, or your family, or even just a mildly curious neighbor.<\/p>\n Don’t worry about that. Stick to the stories and work on your craft. Write for the audience that you know you will someday have.<\/p>\n