How do you write what people actually want to read?

Sometimes, I don’t know.

I don’t think any writer truly knows what another person needs to read on a particular day. I certainly don’t.

A lot of the time, I write what I need to hear.

I write about something I’m struggling with, something I’m trying to understand, a memory that suddenly means more to me than it used to, or even one of those ridiculous little moments in life that makes me laugh at myself.

Then I put it out into the world.

And every once in a while, someone says, “I needed this today.”

That’s when I realize something important.

Maybe writing what people want to read isn’t about trying to predict them. Maybe it’s about being honest enough to write something real.

Because the things we think are uniquely ours often aren’t. Someone else has felt lonely. Someone else has questioned themselves. Someone else has started over, screwed up, laughed at the worst possible moment, grieved something they couldn’t explain, or wondered if they were the only person in the world feeling the way they did.

So I don’t always write for an audience.

Sometimes I write for me.

I share the words I needed.

And I trust that somewhere out there, another person might need them too.

Maybe that’s the secret.

Don’t always try to write what people want to read. Write something that makes them feel less alone when they do.

With love
©️Suzy Bourget
suzybourgetauthor.ca