Oh man, Heather thinks.
Writing is just so hard.
She wishes she could write as if she were chatting with a friend.
But here she is.
At her desk.
Alone.
Staring at her badly written words.
Heather rereads her favorite quote by Kurt Vonnegut, stuck to her monitor on a yellow Post-it note:
Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
Yeah, sure, Heather thinks. She understands that.
But how can she make it work?
Let me explain my 4-step process for engaging readers—one at a time…
Step 1. Pick the right ideas
If you’re wondering who I am writing for …
Of course, it’s you.
Otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.
When I pick an idea for a new blog post, I always ask myself: What’s in it for you? Why would you want to read this?
Officially, my ideal reader is Sarah, a marketing coach in Canada. Sarah is a composite of various people who might be reading my blog, and she’s also a bit like my younger self.
But who exactly Sarah is, is not so important. What’s key is that I try to understand her aims. I know she wants to become a better writer. I know she procrastinates sometimes. I know she wants to be more personal and compassionate in her writing. She wants to write persuasive sales copy without selling her soul. She wants to write better stories. She wants to find her voice.
Sarah has helped me become more reader-focused. But over time, her picture in my mind has blurred a little. I’ve answered most of her questions so I’m more intuitive when choosing an idea for my next blog post.
I notice things that are interesting and then ask myself: How does this help my reader become a better writer? Or sometimes, I might ask: Why is this interesting? Or: Why would *I* read this?
Whatever form the question takes, the key for me is to be helpful, to always have a clear purpose for what I write.
Step 2. Write with the door closed
After I’ve picked an idea, I might write a quick outline. What do I need to explain? What questions do I need to answer? How do I ensure an article is helpful to you?
And next, it’s time to write a first draft, and I follow Stephen King’s advice:
Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Your stuff starts out being just for you, in other words, but then it goes out.
When I write a first draft, I forget Sarah for a while and I don’t think of you either. (I’m sorry!)
My sole task is to get something down on paper.
Writing a first draft is the toughest part of writing for me. So, the bar has to be as low as possible, and I don’t like you or Sarah or anyone else looking over my shoulder.
I allow myself to write a bad first draft. There may be gaps in my arguments. Missing references. Dodgy sentences. Bad word choice. It doesn’t matter.
Nobody needs to see how rickety my first draft is. It just needs to come into existence, and then it can be revised.
Step 3. Become your own writing coach
To start revising, I change roles.
I am not the author of that crappy draft anymore, I become the coach who will improve it. To make that transition and look at my draft with fresh eyes, I leave a first draft for a minimum of 24 hours.
When I become my own writing coach, I don’t wear a different hat or a different shirt, but it feels that way. I’m a different person and I don’t need to feel disappointed about my writing.
I review what’s good and what needs to be improved. And mostly I ask myself: Does the writing actually say what it needs to say?
A first draft is often messy. I don’t phrase my thoughts clearly. I often just hint at them. And there are asides that are irrelevant and obscuring the picture.
Figuring out what I want to say and then making sure the text actually says that is often the most challenging part of my editing process. It’s also the most important.
Jerry Seinfeld suggests that we have to be ruthless editors—to turn ourselves into a “ball-busting son of a bitch.” I do understand that sentiment but it’s not quite my style.
So, my approach is more that of a kind coach. I’m straight with my feedback. I’m pretty ruthless. I don’t overlook any vagueness. I improve everything that can be improved.
But I approach the revision process with kindness.
I recognize the hard work the author in me has done, and I don’t want to upset her. We need to work together—the writing coach in me and the author in me.
4. Open the conversation
When the coach in me is fairly happy, I swap hats again, and I try to read my text through the eyes of a reader.
Maybe through Sarah’s eyes. Maybe through your eyes. Maybe through the eyes of my younger me.
Here is what I ask myself:
- Where do I assume knowledge that my reader might not possess?
- What’s boring?
- Where’s my tone off?
- Where does the reader need some empathy or comfort?
I see a blog post (or a course or a book) as a conversation with my reader. I sense your presence, and I write to make you feel part of the conversation.
I make small changes. I’ll add a question here or there. I use the word you a little more often. I make the writing clearer, simpler, more vivid if that’s still required. The coach in me is not perfect, and the reader in me points out what the coach has missed.
I pay attention to the rhythm of my writing because I know you’ll sense the rhythm, even when you read quietly. I want to create a smooth flow, a pleasant rhythm. I pay attention to my tone and the words I’ve chosen. Am I my most compassionate self?
In this process of editing and conversing with you, my voice strengthens.
The editing process is messy
I’ve described here 4 discrete steps but the truth is that there’s some back and forth. It’s more like 20 or 30 steps, or even more.
Sometimes an idea doesn’t work the way I intended and I have to go back to: Why am I writing this? What’s in it for the reader?
Also, the lines between me as author, writing coach, and reader often blurs. Sometimes I try to be all at once.
The more experienced I’ve become, the more intuitive the writing process becomes and the easier it becomes to hop between the 3 perspectives. I go through my text again and again, doing whatever feels necessary until the author, the writing coach, and the reader in me are all happy.
The author in me wants any piece to be written in my voice. Only I can have written this. I’ve left a piece of me. The writing coach is focused on clarity, and the flow has to be smooth. Lastly, the reader in me wants to feel part of this conversation and she wants to learn something. Reading my stuff has to feel rewarding.
Of the three, the reader is the most important, and the author the least important.
Our most precious tool as writers is empathy
It takes multiple rounds of editing to satisfy the author, the coach, and the reader in me.
But it’s a good challenge.
It requires me to distance myself from my words, and to read through someone else’s eyes.
But the effort seems worth it.
Because I like having this conversation with you.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you, Henneke, for this wonderful and useful article. Do you think that our Ideal Reader has to be one? I am writing the text for a podcast of mine… and I am uncertain: one reader or two readers with different age, sex, ideas etc?
Hi Maurizio,
It’s possible but only if their aims and goals, and the problems they want to solve are similar. If they are far apart, then it’s hard to address the same people with the same content.
If the aims and goals of the two (or three) ideal readers are very similar, it’s possible. I would choose one to write for, and then in the editing phase check whether a text works for the other ideal reader(s), too.
In general, the better you can pinpoint who the one person is you’re writing for, the stronger they’ll feel you’re writing for them. By trying to address more people, you dilute this effort.
Great article! I think sometimes we forget that we are writing for other humans. They’re hungry to connect on a personal level. This article covers a great exercise we, as writers, can follow to get back to square one and make things less difficult for ourselves.
We always want everything to be perfect, but sometimes it’s good to get something on paper, even if it’s rough around the edges.
One of my personal goals for next year is to create a personal “brand” for myself as a content writer/blogger. I want people to read my articles and feel more connected to me. I love your way of doing so!
I struggle a bit with the phrase personal brand, so I appreciate you put it in between quotation marks. Branding feels a bit made up to me, as if we’re forcing ourselves to be something we might not be. I like thinking more about voice. But it’s also true that some aspects like my business name, logo, and color scheme are definitely part of branding. When writing my blog or other content, I don’t think about branding but I do think about who I’m writing for and whether I’m staying true to myself.
Hi Henneke,
My favorite takeaway from your post is the Stephen King example: write for one person. For him, he writes for his wife. What will she think and feel?
I’m an investment advisor and write monthly blogs. I write for a 48-year-old single woman friend. She’s worked for 30 years and saved no money. She worries she will become a penniless bag lady.
I write for her: How she can start saving and investing money and feel hopeful about her future.
Sounds great, Dan. A worthwhile mission.
This simple practice of writing for one reader and knowing how you can help them can make such a big difference. I’ve seen people’s writing transformed just because they started doing this.
Your writing looks effortlessly. It relates to what I go through as a writer. I am writing in medium but my audience has refused to grow. I am wondering if you may have some advice 😊 for me anyway l love your writing voice and style.
It may look effortless but I’ve put a lot of effort in writing it. 🙂
When things aren’t working as expected, it’s useful to go back to the basics. Who is our intended audience / ideal reader? Is our writing helping them? What are we doing so they can find our writing?
Back in about 1980 my employer formed a small team of its instructors to write a home-study course to prepare our students for entry into the “TWA Travel College,” then under development. The first stop of my choice was the New York offices of the then most widely read magazine in the Country, The Reader’s Digest; I hoped they might share the secret of their years of success in attracting and keeping such a loyal army of readers every month.
After a long and enjoyable discussion across the desk of the Editor-in-Chief, the secret was willingly shared: “Write for the READER, not for the Writer!”
It’s surprisingly simple, eh? Simple yet hard to implement.
Thank you for stopping by, Jim. Good to see you again!
Hi Henneke,
Great post, and very easy to read. Really liked the ‘Our most precious tool as writers is empathy’, and, in fact, there can’t be good writing without it.
It’s a super power because it enables good communication.
Take care and warm regards from sunny London!
Yes so true: Without empathy, you can’t write well.
You’re so right. Thank you for stressing that, Virginia.
And good to see you again. Sending sunny greetings back from the North!
I love this, Henneke, as it gives such clarity and structure to the mishmash of editing methods I currently use.
At the same time, you keep your method creative, artistic and personal. This removes the risk of a structured process, producing a robotic output.
Much thanks and appreciation from the Scottish Highlands.
I like how you summarize that, Bert. Yes, there’s some structure but it’s quite loose. There’s a lot of room for playing.
Beautiful. I love your writing.
This piece aligns well with a concept (unrelated to writing) I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.
We’re in sync!
You’re making me curious! What have you been thinking about?
Lol.
How we have different parts to us, and seemingly no matter how hard we try to transform a part (a full leaving behind of former part to become something new), it’s more like a split, where both parts remain.
I plan to write more on this fascinating human occurrence in the future, because it’s not well understood, causes unproductive looping in the mind, and is something both beautiful and disturbing.
Your story today, reminded me of this, especially in how you respect and kindly treat each the author, the coach, and the reader in your own mind.
Your rusty draft ‘author’ can’t become the coach, but she gives way to the development of the coach. When you love her as much as you love the coach, the split is less disturbing, and more beautiful.
Thank you for inquiring. And for writing like you do:-)
That’s such an interesting observation. And I agree with you. It feels like it only works because there’s respect for each of the three parts (or roles or perspectives) and I treat them each with kindness. They all have to live and work in harmony with each other.
I love how you put this: “Your rusty draft ‘author’ can’t become the coach, but she gives way to the development of the coach. When you love her as much as you love the coach, the split is less disturbing, and more beautiful.”
Thanks so much for adding this. It gives me a new perspective. Good food for thought.
You’re welcome, Henneke. I’m happy to hear. And thank you.
Blessings for a beautiful day.
Dear Henneke, thank you for sharing your process – this is so insightful. I will bear it in mind as much as I can when writing my next posts.
Thank you, Elborg. I’d be curious to hear how it goes. Let me know in due course? You got my email address! 🙂
Easy to read and informative. A good example of the topic in question. Loved it
That’s a lovely compliment. Thank you, Njeri.
Henneke—This approach really resonates with me. Although I have never documented my approach so concisely, this accurately captures the way that I work.
I write intentionally, and defining the purpose from the outset is so important that I have devised a template called SOW- (Statement of Work) that ensures that I think through the important things like Why am I doing this; Who is it for: etc. etc. before I put my figurative pen to paper.
I’m glad this resonated, Mike. I’ve called it the rule of ONE before: One reader, one purpose for each piece of content. Happy writing! And thank you for stopping by.