Boo Who? (Scaring Up an Ideal Reader)

Who exactly is my ideal reader?

There's an ideal reader out there for every book. Depending on the genre, the most enthusiastic reader of a particular type of book is either male or female, of a certain age, etc. Those are demographics and statistics. Yet, to write the best book possible, writing for cookie-cutter numbers doesn't cut it.

For instance writing a romance for women between the ages of 20 and 40, middle to upper class, etc.

As an author, I write for an ideal reader; however in the real world, there exists THE ideal reader, someone or someones in the writer's life, that meets those demographics and statistics, but is perfectly real and realistically ideal.

As per advice by writing coach Cathy Yardley, I have focused on a live person as my ideal reader. I picked the one person that represents the type of reader I am targeting, and I write with that one person in mind.

As I write, I keep this person in mind. This reader is one that would call me on something if it's not working, such as too little conflict or the stakes not being deep enough for the POV character, and is full of enthusiasm during reading. Ideal Reader loves and enjoys story.

As far as Boo Who, my ideal reader is THE person I work diligently to scare, thrill, and intrigue; to illicit smiles, caring, and warmth toward and with my story people; and encourage to root for the characters and the story. In writing for THIS person, I am writing for many ideal readers, yet with the focus of this one person, my reader connection is real, palatable, and solid.

So, Boo and thank you, you know who! (Many more books to come!)

Climbing Out of the Box

Years of excessive overtime: Was I working in to avoid feeling, or did I not feel because I worked such extended hours? Even during the death of my parents, two years apart, I experienced a surreal numbness that contained grief, yet left me with bottled-up emotions I did not deal with or experience.

During the past five months, as I've transitioned to writing full time, my emotional and physical healing from over-taxing myself for so long has been slow and yet extreme.

Amazingly, I have discovered that I feel.

Buried grief has surfaced. I have mourned, more deeply and severely, the death of my parents. I have also rediscovered intense anger toward those so-called family members that used and mistreated my parents in their latter years of life.

Social network postings bemoaning and whining about not being given second chances have caused me to realize that after a hundred second chances, when someone doesn't change and hasn't matured, more than likely they never will.

Letting go of such an intense emotional investment has been much easier than I could have imagined.

My feelings and caring are best experienced in situations and with people able to accept and receive such caring, with appreciation, and possibly reciprocation, although the latter is not a requirement.

My emotional rawness is bringing the emotional content of my writing to life. I've heard it said many times that a writer's job is to make the reader feel. I have to ask myself, how can a writer make a reader feel when that writer is not fully capable of fully experiencing their own emotions? An honest, hard-truth answer is that he or she can't.

My current story makes me cry--not the quality of writing, thankfully--and laugh, expect, fear, etc., all because my experiencing those emotions translates into my writing.

In the coming year, I will welcome readers' emotional connection to my characters and reader participation in my books, series, and stories now that I have climbed out of my self-constructed box.

Make Me Care! (From a Reader's POV)

Currently on my Kindle, I have the second of Ilsa J. Bick's trilogy, Shadows: The Ashes Trilogy, with Dean Koontz's Odd Apocalypse: An Odd Thomas Novel, next in line.

As an avid reader, in these series, both Bick and Koontz have made me care.

In the first book of Bick's trilogy, Ashes, I read about the main character who is dying and sets out to take her parent's ashes to what was their special place before she herself dies. Alex's journey of teenage angst is real, and so is her reaction to the world before, during and after the Apocalypse occurs. Book two promises more of Alex's struggle to survive in a world "where no one is safe and humans may be the worst of the monsters."

Koontz's Odd Thomas' series features a fry cook who is able to see ghosts. Odd Thomas has lost the woman he loved and has faced several natural and supernatural conflicts. Except for his paranormal abilities, he's a regular guy who suffers and still keeps on struggling to survive and to overcome, "as he takes on what may well be the most terrifying challenge yet in his curious career."

Both of these series feature fairly young protagonists (Alex is 17 and Odd is 20). Each are faced with every day, as well as extra-ordinary struggles. Each react in realistic ways to what's going on around them and to adversity.

Bottom line, I care about the characters, their journey, their struggle, their survival, their outcome.

Isn't that what all readers want, for the writer to make us care?

I'm looking forward to reading both books and will post reviews later on.

While I'm reading for enjoyment and entertainment, I will also be working to ferret out: Why do I care? What makes me care?