Who's your intended audience?
And are they your biggest fan?
When I’m bored – or maybe just under-stimulated for a few seconds – I tend to scroll through the photos app on my phone. I like to give it a few big pulls downward, like a running start before a big summersault up into the past.
The other day I came across something I had saved a long time ago. It said “write where the heat is.”
Going off my other writing, I’d say the “heat” very often concerns topics like performance, and self-observation.
I’ve come to realize that a discussion around performance is only half-complete without mentioning the audience.
So here we go…
Yesterday I watched a video on “corn-plating.”
(Yes… corn + plate. Corn on a plate. 🌽 🍽️)
For the uninitiated, un-TikTok native, and un-chronically online, it has to do with media analysis and going “too far” in one’s search for meaning.
In other words: are the curtains blue because the author wanted to convey some message of sadness? Or are the curtains just blue?
I don’t want to dive into (or exhaust the already exhausting) conversation about art, interpretation, and the role of the reader.
In this day and age we can all be audience-members to, pretty much, whatever art we desire. Subjectivity and interpretation leaps from every direction. And when an artist dies, much of what we will ever know about their true intentions is lost forever. (Again, another painful debate about whether any of this actually matters.)
What does interest me, however, is thinking about an author’s intended audience. That is, the reader that the author writes for in their mind.
How can we characterize an intended audience, you might ask? Well, it’s pretty simple actually. The intended audience is the one that just gets it. Gets them. The reader who sees it just like the author does. Through their eyes, mind, and words.
There’s debate around intended audiences; whether they exist, and whether they matter.
Again, boringgggg.
What I want to know more about is that type of understanding between author and reader. A type of connection that crosses space, time, culture, and medium.
In my eyes, it’s not a sort of predictive or anticipatory understanding… however much someone may want it to be. Yes, you may have guessed the ending or pre-empted a character’s next moves. Big deal.
I don’t think authors are writing for those readers, really.
No, I’d say an intended audience posesses a type of understanding that is more… appreciative.
Appreciative of, well, everything.
Appreciative of every twist and every turn.
Appreciative of every plot development and character nuance.
A reader who takes in every detail and holds it in their mind just in case there’s a particular relevance a few pages down the line.
This is the reader who both reads and studies. Experiences and feels… both the intentionality (or lack thereof) of characters and author alike. Who imbues their experiences with both cultural context and that of the author.
This is the reader who just gets it. The one the author is writing for.
A reader that makes them feel appreciated.
And, perhaps even more important for understanding our own personal audiences, the reader appreciates the author for allowing them to bear witness to their work.
They are grateful, curious, desirous and appreciative.
So… why does any of this matter?
In our daily performances (both online and offline), who we are and who we are trying to be is quite intentional.
Like an author lamenting over a single comma… our performances are quite calculated, whether we like it or not.
They may be calculated to help us achieve our personal or professional aims. We might take actions to align with our values and what we think is important. Maybe we perform to just make the day easier.
I’m not here to talk about why we perform – I’ve already done that already. I want to take a closer look at who we’re performing for.
Is it a friend you made in college? Colleagues on a Zoom call? Is it some random person at the airport? Or the barista you see every time you go to the café?
The homeless person on your corner? The doorman in your building?
Who? are? you? performing? for?
Take note. It’s important.
Why?
Because at some point you decided, in one way or another, that you needed to be a certain you for them. And you’re spending your time, energy, and effort on fruitless performances that take you further from yourself.
So… my question today: why did you choose them?
Is it because you love and support these people? Do they love and support you? Is it because you want to show up for them? Or do you share the same values? Do they make your life better? Do you make theirs? Do they give you solace? Space? Time?
Do they appreciate you? And all the hard work you are putting into performing for them?
If not, it could be time to recalibrate… and perhaps that just starts with you.
Do you appreciate yourself?
Do you take note of all the beautiful small things? Go crazy over the details? Do you appreciate the nuance? The development? The twists and turns? Do you take note of the context? How deeply do you allow yourself to feel your feelings? How often do you flick through the pages and recognize the scale of your journey?
I’m a believer that negative self-talk has never gotten anyone anywhere worth being. I just refuse to believe otherwise. That’s why it’s so important to blow yourself kisses from the sidelines.
You’re human, it’s hard, and it’s lonely.
Every great book starts with an author recognizing their worth, their power, and their ability to create something of value.
I think what you’ll find is that, when you really show up for and appreciate yourself, others begin to notice.
So, while you’re writing your story, think about your intended audience. Who should they be?
It’s the people that appreciate even being given the opportunity to bear witness to your beautiful, complex, one-of-a-kind self.
All the things that make you you.
Just for those of your choosing.