Who is it for?

I have been thinking a lot lately about "who" do I write for? And by that I mean, the intended audience. I realized a long time ago that primarily, I write for me, myself and I, but there is always the nagging question of "who might read this?"

And of course, we hope the answer is never, "Well, nobody would read this"

Of course that's not the answer...don't listen to the lizard voice of doubt...but I digress :)

In order to find your voice, you do want to know who might read your work. This has evolved for me.

I originally suppose I thought I wanted the same people who would read Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, David Eddings, JRR Tolkien and Brandon Sanderson to read my work.

As I wrote, I realized that I do not approach the sort of writing that might be considered "literary". Oh, I might sneak in a good turn of phrase, a nice metaphor and a funny line occasionally, but I am not Ernest Hemingway by a long shot (and who is, quite frankly?)

So as I wrote, and I read more books (it is imperative, in my opinion, that a writer reads way more than they write), I began to see that I was closer to the tone of RA Salvatore, David Gemmel or Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, though I still felt (and feel) like I'm comparing myself to giants when I type that. And I don't mean to imply that these authors are not as "good" as the list above...their tone is, in my opinion, different though. A bit more action movie than grand epic (though some have some pretty grand scope!).

Then I began to see the sources of my inspiration. Star Wars and specifically the Clone Wars TV show, Justice League (the animated show), Video Game trailers by Blizzard (Warcraft, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo) and Games Workshop (Any Warhammer trailer). I also looked at my subject matter and realized that I was writing for, generically, "fanboys" (and I attach no ill will to that characterization. I consider myself a huge fanboy. Maybe a sort of OG fanboy)

One thing though, many of my friends had kids that were becoming young teens and I realized that those folks read things like Harry Potter. Books with some pretty dark action, but acceptable to young readers.

So where did that leave me? I write for fanboys and fangirls. From 15-85 years of age. There is adult content (people die in my books) but I typically tone down the swearing and graphic sex (of course there are exceptions like "The Warchitect" but any collaboration with Tim Green is a bit darker in tone, but also a lot more epic in scope).

Now, not just any 15-85 year old fanboys/fangirls. People who like Star Wars, superheroes, World of Warcraft, Warhammer, Diablo, The Witcher and things like that...so basically I write for myself.

Having decided that, and having found a tone that fits has really given me peace when writing. I picture who might be reading this, and I write things that I enjoy, but that might also please my now-specific crowd!

So if you are thinking about writing, don't just think about what you want to write about, but who you might be writing for as well. Keep them in mind and get to work!

Fan fiction

I don't know what most opinions are about fan fiction and fan films. I know some are not considered very good, but some are just amazing.
For me, if people are creating things, then it's all good. Even if they need to use the springboard of someone else's creativity to find their muse.
Here's an example.

This is a short fan film, an anime version of a space battle set in the Star Wars universe. It's not huge on story, but it is a great little film and it certainly gives one the sense of a larger story waiting in the wings. This little squadron of Tie Fighters seems like some deep characters of which we are only getting a quick glimpse.

This version is remastered in that someone else took the original work and added music from the films. A great example of a work of fan art, put on the internet, and then made even more solid by the internet community.

My review - pure awesomeness and a job well done!

Check it out right HERE