Who is your audience?
So far, we have looked at how you can build writing into your creative practice by establishing a regular writing routine. We’ve looked at the different ways you can do this, as well as thinking about what you can begin to write about. We’ve also looked at different approaches to writing, how these might ally themselves with the way you make, and how you can use your preferred approach to get started with a piece of writing, in a way that works for you. In this post I’m going to cover something I touched upon a few weeks ago: your audience.
Starting writing: approaches for Gardeners & Architects
So, last week I asked “what kind of writer are you?” Are you a ‘gardener’ type who likes to plant a seed and watch it grow? Or are you an ‘architect’ type who likes to have a structure or plan to work to? We discovered that often the way you make can help you to discover what kind of writer you might tend to be. Now, here are some tips for starting a piece of writing, depending on which type of writer you are:
What kind of writer are you?
This is probably not a question you ask yourself very often, but spending a bit of time pondering how you feel most comfortable writing will help you find when it comes to getting started. You might have no idea what sort of writer you are; the concept of being ‘comfortable’ when writing might seem really different from your experience of writing. So, let’s start with an easier question: what kind of maker are you?
Writing routine: what to write?
Last week we looked at ways of setting up a writing routine, on your terms, so that you feel excited and inspired to write about your practice regularly. Now it’s time to figure out what you’ll actually write.
Setting up your Writing Routine
Effective communication about your practice comes from really understanding what I call ‘the why behind the work’. It’s all about self-awareness and self-questioning. If you know why you make, then it’s easier to explain how. But how often do you really give yourself time to consider these things? Chances are you make time when you really have to: when there is an application to fill out, or a gallery or show needs some text about your work. And in that situation, do you really spend much time asking yourself why you do it, or do you find yourself writing the same sentences, explaining things in familiar ways, or the easiest of all – sending out something you wrote a while ago?
Building a writing routine
I’m a big believer that writing should be part of a maker’s practice, alongside the making and the hundred other tasks that need to be done to run a creative business. I see words as another raw material, ready to be transformed into something special. But, as with any raw material, things don’t spontaneously transform; […]