Write fearlessly

I love writing. Sure, I haven't worked on my novel in ages, but when I sit down to write - whether it be fiction or my blog - I feel a sense of calm that I can't get through any other activities. To create a comprehensive piece of fiction, or a convincing blog post, is very satisfying. But at the same time, writing is fraught with dangers.

What does the reader want?
Writing is an activity that is often done in isolation - just you and the computer/laptop/typewriter. You fling your thoughts on the page, hoping that they will make sense to someone else. That someone else is the reader. While writing as an activity can be lonely, once you bring your written work into the world, your readers are going to react. Some may react positively, some negatively. But there is no denying that this introduces another layer into the mix.

It is easy to get fixated on what the reader wants. As a writer, it is very gratifying to receive positive feedback. After all, writers are human and human respond better to praise than criticism. But humans are vastly diverse, so it will be impossible, as a writer, to please everyone. What one person praises, another may hate. As a writer, the more positive feedback you receive, the better your book will sell and the more money you make. (Not that there is much money in writing, mind you.) So yes, up to a point, it is important to please your readers. And you will want to edit your book/article to death, so that the version you put out into the world is the best you can present. But you have to keep one thing always in mind.

What do you, as a writer, want to say?
Writing a generic article or book in order to please the greatest amount of people is not going to do you any favours. Writing needs to come from the heart. If you, the writer, don't fully agree with what you are writing about, if the writing doesn't come from your heart, the reader is not going to care about it. You need to stay true to your own feelings and vision, not give into the (perceived) demands of the reader.

It is therefore never a good idea to jump on a bandwagon. If books about vampires are suddenly all the rage, but you are not really interested in vampires, then it will be foolish to write a novel about vampires. You won't be able to deliver your best work, because your heart isn't in it. Same with blog posts and articles. I see so many generic articles about whatever topics, but the ones that really grip me are where the writer shows me a glimpse into their hearts, their lives.

Don't be afraid to start again
I recently started writing erotica. I have written quite a few short stories, but last year I finished my first erotica novel. I wanted to write a historic novel, as this fit in well with my plot line. However, when I first started, I set my novel during the Victorian times. I didn't really enjoy it, but I plowed on, as this period is very popular in romances and erotica. I was about 25k words into my novel when I finally realised that it wasn't working. My heart wasn't in it, and I needed to change something. I changed the setting to 1920 US and suddenly my novel worked really well. I finished it and am now working on rewrites.

If your blog post or book isn't working, it's tempted to just keep going. Especially if you have already written a great chunk of it. But stopping and examining what it is that you really want to write is invaluable. You need to put your heart back into the story, whether the publishing world tells you this is not what readers want or not. And that is scary. It's scary to cling to your own vision despite everyone telling you it won't sell, or people won't read it.

Keep the joy in writing
Sticking to your own vision will help you endure in the long run. Writing can be tedious, and this will be even more so if you are writing something only with a view of making it marketable. Writing is a sort of therapy, so leaving your heart out of it will be damaging. The joy in writing is to share a piece of yourself with an audience. And you can only do that if you put aside your fear and give it all. Readers will notice if you are just going through the motions and don't really believe what you write. You owe it to them, and to yourself to be as open and honest as you can be.

Only when you write fearlessly will you produce your best work ever.