Do you know who you are writing for?

A long time ago, a producer asked me who my writing was for and why anyone would pay for it.

I didn't have an answer and spent a long time overthinking it.

When I started teaching screenwriting, I thought I had the answer and pushed this question onto my students.

Later, my writing partner and I wrote our first novel, and we said it was for teenagers. For Ange, it was her students. For me, it was my kids.

Teenagers read it, but we were selling it to their parents. But our real readers were women, 35 to 65 years old. They'd buy all our books and show up at our booth for the next one. We hadn't planned on them.

Then, when it came to this website, I spent a long time trying to figure out who I was writing for. There was the short fiction for readers and the newsletter for writers, but several people wanted me to write more personally.

I struggled—and soon grew tired of writing for anyone.

I took time off, but I missed being on here. I wanted to help other people who wished to write but were struggling.

More importantly, I wanted to help the 20-something-year-old me: lost, frustrated and didn't know what to do or how to start. I also wanted to help the 30-something-year-old me who was writing but still had questions. And if I'm doing this in ten years, I'll write to me now, who's still looking for answers.

So if asked who I'm writing for, the answer is: I write for myself, but I also write for you because, if you're like me, you could use all the help you can get.