When I began my writing career, a quote by author and Nobel Prize in Literature winner John Steinbeck crystallized the instruction I’d received from so many writers to know your audience. Here’s what he said:

“In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person–a real person you know, or an imagined person–and write to that one.”

I took Steinbeck’s words literally. When I started writing Our Mighty Fortress: Finding Refuge in God, I identified a woman from my church who best represented my target audience, taped her picture from our church directory on to my computer monitor, and referred to her image every time I encountered difficulty articulating my topic.

When I felt I sounded too theological or when I couldn’t find the right words, I’d say to myself, How would I explain this to __________ (the woman whose picture hung on my computer) if she were sitting here with me now sharing a pot of tea?

That trick helped me write a readable, accessible manuscript on an abstract, deeply theological topic. And the comment I receive most about that book today is that readers hear my voice in its pages; they feel as though we’re sitting side-by-side carrying on a warm, inviting conversation. I couldn’t be more pleased.

But I couldn’t have done it without applying Steinbeck’s words to “write to that one.” And I certainly couldn’t have done it had God not given me grace to envision my reader.

To whom are you writing? Do you know? Envision her now. And if you can’t see her, ask God to show that reader to you. It’s best to know who she is before you begin; it will make the writing process that much easier in the long run.

‘Til next time,
Joan