Writing Perspective

Which side of the writing line are you looking from? You're probably going to answer that you're a writer, so your view is as a writer. In many instances, that is true.

But what if you turned things around and looked at your own writing from the reader's view? After all, your readers are the ones you're hoping to reach, the ones you want to hook with that opening paragraph. 

One thing you might strive for is to bring emotion of some kind to your reader. Fine, but if you write with no emotion, your reader won't 'get it' either. We need to feel what we write. If you're writing a story about a hero who has multiple brick walls set up in front of him, you want your reader to be cheering him to go on. If you write a story with a sad ending, you hope your readers will finish with a lump in the throat or a tear in their eye. Write so that readers feel something as they read your words. 

What about writers who truly enjoy writing long descriptions? They might love them, but do their readers? Consider how the reader will feel if you spend one entire page describing a place where the characters are having a picnic.

How about writers who write in far too much detail? Readers get tired of reading about a woman making a sandwich, step by painful step. Writers sometimes create too many details instead of giving the reader the benefit of the doubt, that they know how to make a sandwich. 'Mary made herself a ham and cheese sandwich.' is enough. You don't want to bore your reader.

I would suggest that, as a part of your editing process, you try to look at what you've written from the readers' point of view. Do it after you've done your normal editing and revision that has left you satisfied. Then, try to step into the shoes of a reader as you go through the process again. 

I'm reading a book right now in which the author jumps around constantly from character to character within a chapter, and it's driving me crazy. To the point that I may give up on the book before I'm halfway through reading it. I don't think the author gave much thought to his readers. Even so, his book was published, but I think it could have been a better book if he'd given a bit more thought to his readers. 

As our poster for today says, 'Sometimes, all you need to do is look at things from a different perspective.'