The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Writing Tips

How Much Do You Know About Your Ideal Reader?

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know your ideal reader so you can hit the target with your book

Updated November 4, 2024.

Knowing your target audience or ideal reader—today’s term is avatar—is important in many ways. As the term implies, you are aiming at a target, so knowing as much as you can about it will enable you to hit the bull’s-eye.

Often the message you hope to convey through your fiction or nonfiction dictates a lot about who the audience is. For example, I wrote Carried by Grace because I wanted to help women…who were Christian…with children…who had been sexually abused. Additionally, I narrowed the age range to mothers who were 28 to 40.

Before you start to write, gain as much clarity about your ideal reader as possible, all the way down to their needs and struggles (this is critical if you blog). People read to meet a need in their life. What need are you meeting?

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Watch Out for Anachronisms

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Anachronisms are element chronologically out of place.

What are anachronisms? Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online Dictionary defines anachronism as: “a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place especially : one from a former age that is incongruous in the present.”

Anachronisms tend to occur primarily in historical fiction. It happens for various reasons, one of which is the writer failed to do the proper research needed.

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How NOT to Write a Book

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In writing book 3 of my Her Inheritance trilogy, I learned how NOT to write a book…at least for me. Hat’s off to pantsers because I think my recent experience comes pretty close to writing by the seat of my pants.

How NOT to Write a Book

  • DO NOT change your plot after you’ve already written 20,000 to 30,000 words.
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How to Outline a Novel

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mind map of book outlining

Outlining a novel is quite different from nonfiction. And maybe you’ve heard the terms plotter and pantser. A plotter is one who outlines. A pantser is someone who writes by the seat of their pants—without an outline. I think most writers (fiction and nonfiction) tend to do a bit of both. I fall into that category.

Like most things, there’s more than one way to outline your book. It’s all about personal choice and writing style. Some writers, after outlining their novel, have the book nearly written. I can assure you, I’m not one of those people!

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How to Outline a Nonfiction Book

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Scrivener cork board outline

When I hear the word outline, I’m back in grade school laboring through
I.
A.
B.
II.
III.

Is that what comes to mind for you when someone starts talking outlines.

But that’s not what you need to do!

Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Online Dictionary gives these definitions of outline: “the principal features or general principles of a subject of discussion; a summary giving the essential content of a written work.”

So when I say, outline your book, I simply mean jot down the main content you plan to cover. Bullet points will do.

The concept behind outlining is to help you take command of your topic and organize the information in a manner suited to your audience. Otherwise you might end up with a book that includes everything but the Mad Hatter’s top hat.

Let’s take a closer look.

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Structuring Nonfiction

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structuring nonfiction

Last month we looked at structuring your fiction story. This month we’ll look at structuring nonfiction.

While nonfiction has no plot, you still must ensure that your topic flows in an organized manner from beginning to end.

Does your subject matter fit a chronological arrangement? Perhaps it better fits a topical structure or even a step-by-step flow. Maybe there are overall themes that serve as sections/parts for your book and specific topics that fit under each theme.

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Pantser, Plotter, Producer—Which One Are You?

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writing sprints word countsLast week I excitedly told you about Chris Fox’s book 5000 Words per Hour, and how I had added 914 words to my fiction WIP through 7 five-minute micro-sprints.

This week I wanted to bring you an update.

I upped my writing sprints to 10 minutes, and added another 1675 words.

One thing I found as I did my sprints is that if I only have a vague idea of what’s going to happen, I don’t know what to write. And my words per hour (wph) [Read more…] about Pantser, Plotter, Producer—Which One Are You?

Challenge your writing routine and discover new methods

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challenge, rafting the river rapids

Challenge.

Does that word strike fear and trembling into you or get you pumped?

Perhaps it’s my Marine Corps training or just part of my DNA, but I love learning. And I challenge myself to continually improve professionally and personally.

A few weeks ago I was listening to the Novel Marketing Podcast episode “How to Write 5000 Words an Hour with Chris Fox.”

Five thousand words an hour! Yeah, right, I thought. But I listened anyway. Something productive while I was washing dishes.

What’s This Challenge All About?

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