Authors as Audiences

[guildrone]

So, I’ve been on an especially ruminative self-reflective bent as of late—and as per my most recent check-in over on justcreate, one case of such involves questioning where exactly my creative drive comes from. More specifically, I’ve been sitting with a well-worn motto that I once thought I’d taken to heart…

Write what you want to read.

…But might have instead been taking for granted, in the sense that what I’d for a while considered as a writer to be a core appeal of much of my work is something I doubt I’d appreciate as a reader from the outside looking in—if I weren’t the one doing the aiming in the first place, in other words, I don’t think I’d be included in the target (audience) I’m trying to hit.

So, I figured I’d spin this uncomfortable case of arrested authorial development into my first shot at actually sparking discussion around here—and thus pose this variably obvious question to you in turn: What is the relationship between what you read(/watch/play/etc.) and what you write?

Comments

[mific]

Interesting question! I think I mostly read the same sort of things that I write, but then my tastes are fairly broad, so I may not be the best example.

I certainly gravitate to favourite tropes and I also like writing those. For instance: AUs, crack taken seriously, humour, action/adventure/plot, found family, apocafic, and anything with worldbuilding. I'm not a fan of reading tons of angst so I tend not to write that either, and I find pure fluff and romance boring by themselves, but I usually do write a small number of pairings (although sometimes teamy gen), however the romance has to be part of a story with plot, action, etc.

The fandom I'm most active in doesn't currently fully share my preferences, or at least I suspect not. I think many of my fellow fans are more into in-depth relationship complications, angst, hurt/comfort etc., mostly in a canon setting. But it doesn't especially inspire me to write those tropes as it's hard enough for me to galvanise myself to write at all, and I can't muster the interest to do so in tropes I'm less fond of.

The main difference in what I write and read, I think, is that I have less oomph for writing these days so when I do write it tends to be short to medium-length fics, not long ones as I sometimes did in the past. But I love reading longfics, so am definitely not writing what I prefer to read, in that respect.

Can you explain:
what I’d for a while considered as a writer to be a core appeal of much of my work is something I doubt I’d appreciate as a reader from the outside looking in—if I weren’t the one doing the aiming in the first place, in other words, I don’t think I’d be included in the target (audience) I’m trying to hit.
a bit more? I'm not sure I understood what you meant there.

[guildrone]

Can you explain:

what I’d for a while considered as a writer to be a core appeal of much of my work is something I doubt I’d appreciate as a reader from the outside looking in—if I weren’t the one doing the aiming in the first place, in other words, I don’t think I’d be included in the target (audience) I’m trying to hit.

a bit more? I'm not sure I understood what you meant there.

Well, in (ideally) less wrought terms: There’s something I’ve had in mind for my portfolio that I’ve so far taken pride in somewhat achieving (according to scant feedback, at least)…but that very same thing, now that I’ve more thoroughly thought about it, is something I’ve only at best tolerated in other works as far back as I can remember. Ergo, something I can apparently only appreciate as far as my authorial insight and ego permits.

To further candidly clarify, I’ve for a good few years now held in high esteem the idea of deliberately conspicuous prose—writing that all but demanded an active reader to parse, imploring them to interpret every word on their own terms rather than letting them passively immerse themselves for their troubles (or lack thereof); writing that, in turn, rewarded those who took to it the task with unique wrinkles of understanding and wisdom to not take any of such for granted. Of all the in-line notes and comments lying in my drafting docs, a good chunk throughout the past few years detail the etymologically informed double-entendres behind my choices of specific words—or what possible readings an offbeat turn of phrase could wring out for me to further work with…

It’s a point of distinction I thought I gave thorough props to—a work that actively challenges people by way of embracing art’s inherently interpretive multiplicity, as opposed to striving for accessible clarity to the point of ‘invisibility’ beyond conveying a singular intended vision…

…Which I think makes it kinda weird that, as far as I can remember, every extra bit of effort I’ve had to spend parsing someone else’s prose is something I at best only like the work in spite of; the process itself has only ever been an obstacle to my eventual gratification of getting a firm-enough grasp of it (if even that).

For how proud I’d apparently be to have the likes of Finnegans Wake under my belt, in other words, I start wanting to watch some random video essay instead as soon as I start looking over so much as its second sentence.

Putting the irony of me being in a position to clarify all this aside…

The main difference in what I write and read, I think, is that I have less oomph for writing these days so when I do write it tends to be short to medium-length fics, not long ones as I sometimes did in the past. But I love reading longfics, so am definitely not writing what I prefer to read, in that respect.

I guess I have the inverse issue—in that I have a lot less bandwidth I’m willing to spend on reading than I want my ideal audience to approach my writing with, which feels kind of hypocritical of me (hence the discomfort).

[sholio]

I guess for me "write what you want to read" is sort of like "cook what you want to eat." In other words: it's not bad advice, it's just limiting. Lots of people cook for themselves, sometimes it's the best or even the only way to get exactly what you want (or just a basic meal), but if you really like cooking, it's also satisfying to stretch yourself by cooking things you're not sure if you'll like, or dishes you would never eat, or things your friends like, or something to bring to a potluck.

I do often enjoy reading my own work, and a lot of what I write is also what I like reading - but a lot of it isn't; the pull to write it in the first place is because I think the actual act of writing it would be fun or challenging, and sometimes because I want to share it with an audience.

[minoanmiss]

I was going to say something like this but I like your version better.

[mxroboto]

Beautifully said! I feel that when I write it's more a challenge to myself after absorbing a variety of different writings and storytelling styles, it's an experiment to see what comes out. Some stuff I read again later, some I never ever touch again.

[lizvogel]

I was trying to come up with an erudite comment and having a failure of brain, so I'm just going to point to this ^ instead.

The thing I respond to most as a reader of original fic (which is mostly what I write these days) is the characters. I honestly do not know if I would love my characters as much as I do if I weren't the one writing them.

[osteophage]

Tough question... What comes to mind first is that there's a lot of things I like to read that I don't feel all that capable of replicating myself, whether due to narrative complexity or just technical knowledge. I don't feel up to writing a murder mystery, for example, even though that's a genre I like to read. But on the other hand, there is some overlap between what I like to read and write, what with my general interest in suspense, fantasy, supernatural creatures, etc.

Are you saying that what you've been writing is something you would otherwise dislike as a reader, or just something that would lack appeal for you?

[guildrone]

Tough question... What comes to mind first is that there's a lot of things I like to read that I don't feel all that capable of replicating myself, whether due to narrative complexity or just technical knowledge. I don't feel up to writing a murder mystery, for example, even though that's a genre I like to read. But on the other hand, there is some overlap between what I like to read and write, what with my general interest in suspense, fantasy, supernatural creatures, etc.

Yeah, from what I hear this is pretty common—and something I sympathize with myself; I doubt I’ll ever write something with wholesale political drama in mind, for instance, but I’m totally down to try and digest it myself.

Are you saying that what you've been writing is something you would otherwise dislike as a reader, or just something that would lack appeal for you?

At best, some of the ethos behind my work is something I think I’d only like it in spite of—as per my response to mific.

[mxroboto]

I feel like what you've described is very similar to how visual artists gather inspiration (and how my own visual creative journey's going) -- where the eye for detail evolves a few steps ahead of your skillset.

[soricel]

Lots of thoughts (this kind of question always causes me some weird anxiety...I start thinking I should be more "intentional" with my reading/writing/inspiration/motivation, but I never really feel like I am...but that's another story!)...one thing I'm aware of, though, is that I like reading funny things, but I almost never try *writing* funny things. Not only does it feel technically harder, but somehow it feels so much more vulnerable than writing heavier/angstier stuff.

[phantomtomato]

I have specific areas of overlap and difference between my reading and writing and I feel comfortable with all of them, myself—but with that said, I don't see "write what you want to read" as incompatible with the idea that you might not want to read that same thing from just any author!

For my examples: I read literary fiction novels, and I write fanfic. My fanfic overlaps litfic in terms of prose, focus, common character and emotional arcs, and often settings (real-world contemporary and recent history), which is by design. I love that sort of writing, both as a reader and a creator, and I get a lot of pleasure from both crafting those sentences/arcs and analyzing them in the novels I read! But in contrast, I write shorter fiction (short story through novella length) and tend to read full-length novels; I also write explicit sex scenes, and only the more recent litfic books might have those. The shorter length works for me in terms of how I prioritize writing time in my life (as a hobby, alongside other hobbies, after full-time work), but I love full-length books! Nothing against that length at all, and perhaps I'd write it if I weren't also working, or if I gave up my other hobbies. As for sex, well, I love fanfic as a space which embraces sex, and that's something I want to be part of, and I get why pro fic doesn't usually have it (also, I read a lot of classics). But yeah, in my own writing, I'm going to make sure to add smut.

So, with all that said, I'm not any less wary about approaching new authors who seem to be writing the same things I like and write! There's a million ways to be literary, and maybe I mean E. M. Forster while another author means Henry James. Or, sometimes, a new novel gets described as litfic-with-sex and I don't think it actually pulls its weight with the prose enough to fit into that category, versus contemporary romance. I will freely admit to being snobbish in some ways, and I'll turn my nose up at a book that doesn't meet my expectations—critically, even if that's very subjective reaction to what the book is doing. As long as I'm keeping an eye on how I present my opinions (they should clearly be opinions) and I'm not too judgmental of the appeal of the thing that didn't work for me, why not think about or discuss why I didn't think it fit my expectations or live up to some genre/marketing promise?

Also, because sometimes it turns out that the point of writing what you want to read is that "what you want to read" is specific in ways that you might not even be able to put words to until you're the one writing it. (Or maybe you never can precisely define why your way is different—but that's fine, again, as long as there's some perspective and consideration in how you discuss that!) Like, the process of writing and editing can fundamentally be one of creating the phrases, sentences, characters, plots, themes, etc. that make your brain most deeply satisfied, something that you will simply never get out of reading a text by another author.

[mific]

As long as I'm keeping an eye on how I present my opinions (they should clearly be opinions) and I'm not too judgmental of the appeal of the thing that didn't work for me, why not think about or discuss why I didn't think it fit my expectations or live up to some genre/marketing promise?
That made me think about how picky I am with published writing - I'm way more judgemental about it than with fanfic, as I strongly believe in not criticising fanfic which is written for love, not profit. But I also like certain fanfic tropes and themes which tend not to be present in profic, and that can make profic seem dull, or a slog to read, sometimes. After I fell into fandom, for a while I couldn't read any novels (except fanfic ones), and although that's mellowed a bit now, I'm not sure if I've calmed down a bit in my tastes, or if professional fics are now incorporating more of the themes and tropes of fanfic (the lessons writers have learned from writing fanfic), which is why I'm finding it easier these days to read profic - which I definitely don't write!

[phantomtomato]

Ha, see, my tastes run totally in the opposite direction—if a pro novel has a lot of themes and tropes that remind me of fanfic, I'm going to dislike it! (After all, I don't look for common fanfic tropes/themes when I'm reading fanfic, so I don't want them in my other reading, either.) I probably enjoy the sorts of novels that are dull or sloggish by fanfic standards. 😅 And that's part of why I try to be thoughtful about when and how I call a book bad or critique it—I'll speak differently in my personal spaces (e.g. my own blog, or my physical reading journal) than I will in a community (e.g. my book club discord server). Other people are going to have completely different tastes, and those tastes aren't bad even if I don't enjoy books written to fit them!

[mxroboto]

Wow, yes to all of this! I'm also very picky about what I read and that's lead down some illuminating rabbit holes that's changed my storytelling and tastes forever. My writing is also usually shorter form with smut, but I also find myself not always gelling with authors of similar tastes, it's all so granular, I feel.

What hit me the most is your final point -- by fumbling into some very pleasing writing processes/scenes/lines, I've found a greater appreciation for genres or tropes I would have otherwise dismissed. I love how creative growth comes from all sides if you let it!

[shivver]

So, I was going to say that yes, I write what I'd like to read, but then I thought a bit further about it and no, actually, I don't. It's more like after I'm done writing, I enjoying reading what I wrote.

For me, I only write when I have an idea that I want to explore, and that might not have anything to do with the kinds of things I want to read/watch. For example, I have no interest in romance or relationships, but I did once want to explore the relationahip between two Doctor Who guest characters, so I wrote it. If I had come across that story on AO3, I would have passed it right by, as it was obviously a romance story, but when I reread it, I enjoy it.

So yeah, I think my guiding principle is just to tell the story that I want to tell, whatever that happens to be at the time.

[igenlode]

I enjoy reading 'jewelled prose', although it is hard to do well and very easy to make unreadable in the wrong hands; whether my own hands are the right ones from the point of view of *writing* it is another question! (Certainly I am not good at lush landscape descriptions, in the sense that I generally don't even think to do them rather than in the sense that I make the attempt and fall flat on my face...)

I probably enjoy writing fanfiction more than I enjoy reading it, which makes me feel a bit selfish; I am out there trolling for readers with little intention of returning the favour. Partly this is due to a good deal of dislocation in general between what I read (and grew up reading) and what the fandom likes to write, which means that our tastes and preoccupations tend not to have much overlap. Partly it's that reading online is not my favourite activity -- it takes me far longer to read online copies even of 'real' books, because I can only do so while tied to a computer screen, whereas I can read a nice paperback anywhere and everywhere (and do!) Partly it's that I tend to feel pretty disjointed from any fandom; I'm almost always writing for fandoms where I have *never* read any other fanfic until after completing my own initial story inspired by the original source work, i.e. I start off by writing in isolation as an independent reaction to canon rather than as participation in pre-existing online comment or community.

Likewise I probably enjoy writing angst more than I enjoy reading it from other people; I prefer happy endings, or at least eventual ones, but that doesn't mean I necessarily give them to my own characters! I take satisfaction in reading back my own angst fic, or find it cathartic at least, but when I'm actually reading or watching a story I'm going to be willing the characters to come through to some sort of victory and reconcilation...

[mxroboto]

While I predominantly fic I rarely read it, opting instead for a wide range of trad pub. All those disparate ingredients ferment in my head and then something unpalatable to the Fandom Whole comes out, rinse and repeat. I'm very happy with what I write, and I'm always aiming to grow that skill, even if I don't go back and read my old stuff too much. My own enjoyment and learning is paramount with what goes in and out of my brain. That's the metric I go by, instead of wondering if what I make would appeal to me as a reader. I approach art that way too: I'm having fun, and if you have fun with what I make, that's cool too!