1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,960
Should I be a Dickens or a Dr. Seuss?

2
00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:10,160
My name is Ken Mears.

3
00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:11,320
And I'm Melissa Fales.

4
00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:33,760
And welcome to Writer's World.

5
00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:39,320
The question of this episode is, should I be a Dickens or a Dr. Seuss?

6
00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:45,040
This was a way of asking, how much description should I put in my story?

7
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,360
Ken, what are your thoughts?

8
00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,720
How much description should someone put in their story?

9
00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,800
In my personal opinion, people should put a lot of description in their story, but avoid

10
00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:56,800
overdescribing.

11
00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:01,320
For example, I don't want just, the mountains were tall.

12
00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:06,280
I want the mountains jutted into the sky like the teeth of some long dead creature.

13
00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,000
The tops of the mountains glistened with caps of snow.

14
00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,280
However, there is such a thing as overdescribing.

15
00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:17,080
An author my grandfather really enjoys, Tom Clancy, has this tendency.

16
00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,840
He will describe everything in such detail that by the end of the book, you would know

17
00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,720
how to build the submarine that the story takes place on.

18
00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,800
That is a bit too far.

19
00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:34,040
The conclusion that I came to was how much description you put in depends on who your

20
00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,280
audience is and what your style is.

21
00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:43,480
For good old Tom, his style was lots and lots and lots of detail.

22
00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:50,120
According to wellstory.com, quote, working to write a story that appeals to as many readers

23
00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,280
as possible is a common mistake.

24
00:01:53,280 --> 00:02:00,040
Readers are diverse and thus no story will apply to every reader, end quote.

25
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:05,760
So I thought this was a good point in saying that you should probably think a little bit

26
00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:07,960
about who your audience is.

27
00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,160
Knowing who your audience is can help you.

28
00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:17,280
Typical toddler tendencies, we are talking about maybe a hundred words, probably less,

29
00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,680
where most of the description is done through pictures.

30
00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:32,880
Typical young adult tendencies are usually 175 to 200 pages with 55,000 to 80,000 words.

31
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:40,520
And typical adult books tendencies are around 80,000 words, according to writersdigest.com

32
00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:46,320
or 100,000 words according to writersandartists.com.

33
00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:52,240
Of course, there is a lot of wiggle room in how much description you should put in, but

34
00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:57,120
I think something that can be very helpful if you're asking this question is to identify

35
00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,600
what your age bracket is.

36
00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:04,720
And also how much description you put in does depend on your style.

37
00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:17,600
Before we continue on to the next question, we're going to have a quick break.

38
00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:23,200
The next question we will be addressing is, should I write with a targeted audience in

39
00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:24,280
mind?

40
00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:30,160
In public speaking and marketing, there is a saying to quote, know your audience and

41
00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:31,160
quote.

42
00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,720
This can best be described by a personal story.

43
00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:42,080
There's this game which I play with my neighbors where a judge picks a picture and everyone

44
00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:47,240
else has to pick a saying they think goes best with the picture.

45
00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:51,600
The judge then decides which word card they like best.

46
00:03:51,600 --> 00:04:00,800
The only way you can win at this game is by knowing your audience and tailoring to them.

47
00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,400
And yes, I think you should always consider your audience.

48
00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:10,560
Stephen King said, quote, all novels are letters aimed at one person, quote, aka your ideal

49
00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:12,400
audience.

50
00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:17,200
Here are three reasons to define your target audience according to coschedule.com.

51
00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,840
Quote, one, ensure you're creating the right content for the right people.

52
00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:27,480
Two, better understand how to create content that connects benefits to reader needs.

53
00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:29,880
Three, increases conversation.

54
00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:35,360
And quote, it also is the best way to win apples to apples.

55
00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:36,720
Let's hear Ken's thoughts.

56
00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,800
Should authors write with an audience in mind?

57
00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:40,800
For sure.

58
00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:42,200
Every audience is different.

59
00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,160
Some people love the over description where you could paint a perfect painting just from

60
00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:47,840
the words.

61
00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:52,800
Others will not want nearly as much description, especially if they are much younger.

62
00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,800
And of course, there is the middle ground where they want the perfect balance of description.

63
00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,480
Of course, you have to find your audience first.

64
00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,120
Then you can tell your description to your audience.

65
00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:08,240
This leads to the next question perfectly, which is how do I find my audience?

66
00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,760
And I think you will find your audience pretty quickly.

67
00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:18,180
It's the one you enjoy the writing, writing the most and the one you find yourself writing

68
00:05:18,180 --> 00:05:19,180
to.

69
00:05:19,180 --> 00:05:25,400
I would focus on having a unique writing voice and style and you will find your audience of

70
00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,620
people you enjoy writing to.

71
00:05:28,620 --> 00:05:33,840
And those people will love you and then some people won't love you.

72
00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:39,900
Ken you're experienced, you're well, I'm older, but how does someone find their audience?

73
00:05:39,900 --> 00:05:42,000
Often an audience kind of finds you.

74
00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,680
However, that doesn't mean you don't go in without an audience in mind.

75
00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:50,520
In fact, you should probably know what audience you want to be writing for because this is

76
00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:55,240
very important because it affects what you write.

77
00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:59,440
Clearly there will be a big difference between writing for five year olds and for people

78
00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,220
in their 80s.

79
00:06:01,220 --> 00:06:05,800
And sometimes you need someone's opinion to tell you what your audience is for a specific

80
00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:06,800
book.

81
00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,600
For example, with my own book, The Castaway Hero, my publisher told me that my particular

82
00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:15,320
book seemed like it would work best if it was targeted toward middle school grades.

83
00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,520
So I wrote towards that.

84
00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:29,120
We'll finish up talking about writing for a reader right after a short break.

85
00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,240
This is a very long winded question.

86
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:33,240
So prepare yourself.

87
00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:40,600
Should I start my story writing for my ideal readers or write my story and see what age

88
00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,320
bracket it ends up taking me?

89
00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:49,480
I think that here Ken and I will have very different approaches and I fully accept that

90
00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,360
my current way could change.

91
00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:58,680
Again the question is, should I start my story writing for my ideal reader or write my story

92
00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,160
and see what age bracket it ends up taking me?

93
00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:09,600
I believe that this depends a lot on if you are a planster or a plotter.

94
00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:14,560
You will get a lot of opinions on this, of what you should do, what has been done, what

95
00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:15,840
is best.

96
00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:21,160
But I think whatever works for you in answering this question and trial and error would be

97
00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,400
the best way I think you could personally figure this out.

98
00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:31,760
Ken, should someone start their story writing for their ideal readers or write their story

99
00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:34,680
and see what age bracket it ends up taking them?

100
00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,960
I would say write your story as you like to write.

101
00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:43,080
As I mentioned, when it came to my story I had it all written first and then my publisher

102
00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:49,680
came to me and told me that I would likely have a best fit there for a middle grade market.

103
00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,920
But really it would be a good idea to have some idea of what age range you would like

104
00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:55,720
to be writing for.

105
00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:00,600
I knew that I wanted to write for kids, I just wasn't specific to elementary, middle,

106
00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:01,600
or high schoolers.

107
00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,680
And my writing style for the Stones of the Middle Land series just so happens to fill

108
00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,400
into one of those specific age ranges.

109
00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:12,040
And that's how Ken found his.

110
00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,720
And maybe you'll find yours in a different way and maybe we'll end up interviewing you

111
00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,000
later about how you found it.

112
00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,680
And we hope today's episode was helpful.

113
00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,200
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.

114
00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:28,120
For sources and the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.

115
00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,760
And our Instagram is writersworldpodcastofficial.

116
00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:38,000
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.

117
00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,440
Until next time, I've been Ken Mears.

118
00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,680
And I've been Melissa Fales with Writers World.

119
00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:57,880
Thank you for watching and keep on writing.