Writing for Marginalized Audiences

              As a writer, While I am writing I generally try not to think about who is going to read my work. Many of you may have heard me refer to myself as an organic writer. In this, I find I generally write what comes to my mind and create a story appropriate to my character and their life. Where I focus on my reader is on the editing and rewriting of my work. However, I would be inaccurate if I were to say I never think about my audience. I would question any author who claimed to never think about the reader during the writing process. I have always professed that there are two primary types of authors, organic and scripted. I am, as I said, an organic writer. More scripted writers tend to outline and storyboard their work before they begin or get particularly far into the writing process. I suspect, though I cannot claim to know, that these writers would have more intention around the reader for which they are writing. I believe that both writing styles and the focus they apply to the reader have equal pressure for managing the sensitivity applied to the reader’s connection to the work’s complexities.

In both of these cases, organic writers and scripted writers, when they get to the point of identifying their target audience, there needs to be a connection between the subject matter of the book, the characters in the work, and the reader themselves. Building these bridges will help to engage the reader with curiosity and emotion. The challenge for the author is to build these connections with compassion, respect, and sensitivity. As with writing about the characters in the book, the author needs to treat the reader with the same care. If writing for readers in marginalized communities, these connections may themselves be particularly tenuous or sensitive.

              With some readers, the connection to a book may be casual and the sensitivity associated with the book may be light or non-committal. When a book has a more marginalized character or focus or has more sensitive topics it is plausible the reader may connect to these groups in a personal way which can bring emotional reactions that the author may never anticipate. As authors, we must be mindful of this fact when thinking about our readership. As an organic author, I often have completed my story before I focus on my reader. This can create many challenges when I am working the reader and their needs back into my story. The few times I have leveraged more scripted techniques to write a work, I have found that putting the needs of my reader upfront often creates inherent challenges in the writing process. These elements do not supersede the need for additional work, rather they highlight the need for the increased sensitivity that we as writers must place on the compassion, we owe our audience.

              I challenge every author to ensure that they give credence to the reader and their needs with the same care and sensitivity that we give each of the characters in our stories. I challenge every author to start their work, whether scripted or organic, with three questions. One, who am I writing this for: character, community, and audience? Two, why am I writing this work? Three, how can I better prepare myself for the tenderness with which I must approach this group, even if I am a member? I applaud every author who can write for themselves as if they are a reader. We should always use the same care for our audience that we want to be used for us.