Theories on Writing - It's All About the Readers

This is obviously the new blog.  I tend to not fiddle with things too much, but right now at least the profile section is not working correctly (errors out when I try to save the profile).  I'll get that fixed and post a short profile shortly, but a quick lowdown if you've wandered in off the street.

I'm an author of books of dubious genre.  Why dubious?  They don't really seem to fit anything.  At first glance some may dismiss them as young adult.  They aren't.  They are a bit sophisticated in their themes and plots to appeal much to the typical young adult audience.  There is no Harry Potter here.

Personally I classify them as coming of age stories.  Yes the characters are mostly teenagers, but they get themselves into the damndest situations!  When I say they get themselves into those situations, I really mean that.  Even I don't know what they might do next.

I have some controversial theories on writing that many don't subscribe to.  They (whoever they are) will tell you I'm just plain wrong, and that it can't be done that way.  My readers disagree, and that is my first theory on writing.

Writing is a performing art.  There is only one objective in mind.  To please the audience.  Anything, and I do mean anything, else is secondary to that goal.  As authors we now have the freedom through conduits like the web and self publishing to bypass the gatekeepers.  We no longer have to write to please agents or publishers, we are our own agents and publishers.  That leaves us free to now write for our audience.  It's nothing short of revolutionary.

Think about that for a minute if you write.  It's no longer what the publisher wants, or the publisher's idea of what the audience wants.  It's what your readers want and what they tell you they want.  If you are just a reader or a fan of my novels that may just sound like common sense and it does.

Well the pundits say that's all wrong.  They say I should write for myself, what I want to write.  Of course if I did that my personal opinion is I should just keep it on my hard drive, right?  If I only write what I want to read there would be no reason to bother with that whole pesky publishing thing.

So I don't write for myself.  I write what I believe you want to read.  I enjoy doing it for you.  It makes your suggestions and discussions valuable to me.  Comments aren't just appreciated, they're necessary to the process.  I'm going to have my e-mail address right out front for you.  If you don't want to make a public comment or suggestion, e-mail me a private one.

Will I use your ideas?  Maybe.  I will say that the beginning chapters of State of Chaos not only contained two scenes specifically suggested by readers, I rewrote the ending of Anita's Rescue at one point to accommodate them because they were that good.

But aren't author's supposed to sit in their ivory towers and lord over all they survey?  Shouldn't they be aloof with their publicity shots and sage beards as the only proof of their existence?  Nah, it's a brave new world.  Those authors couldn't write for you if they wanted to.  They had to write for the gatekeepers.  Us?  We'll do it anyway we damn well please.

-Ezzy