Writers Horoscope August 31: Reach out to your readers.

No matter the audience size, it’s a good idea to open up, to gauge your readership.

After all, you’re a wordsmith. A master of your message.

And your readers’ reactions? Wellll, it’s anybody’s guess.

With that in mind…why am I doing this writer’s horoscope [WH]?

Not necessarily in order of importance:

1. This is a project that will keep my head in the writing game. I like to stay involved in the process and if I have to think daily about even one aspect of it, well, that’s helpful.

2. I’m writing for me. I’m facing up to a self-issued challenge and since I’m not a great finisher up to now, I want to see if I can finish a year of it. [I can hear the groans from the folks who read the WH and really, you’ve been great, but I’m guessing you might roll your eyes at the repetition of some of the topics/themes I explore, which brings me to…

3. I’m thinking that if certain themes keep rearing their ugly heads, well, that’s telling me something–namely, they are issues that I consider important, if for no other writer than myself.

4. Maybe a different reader/fellow writer happens upon [is force-fed] my blog, say, a month from now. They’ve missed all my other gems [just humor me on this] about sticking your neck out, but the one on their screen might just hit home.

5. Each time I click ‘Publish’, I’ve given resistance a small-scale whack on the side of the head and believe me, resistance deserves it.

6. I really do ascribe to Austin Kleon’s ‘Show Your Work’ principles two and three ‘Think Process, Not Product’ and ‘Share something small every day.’. It’s giving a peek behind the curtain because frankly, the WH is obviously a work in progress. I mean, really, depending on the day, is it really a horoscope?

7. Maybe some of those dominant themes will co-opt themselves into a different form later on.

8. It’s fun to look for the photos that cast a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ eye at the various themes.  [I’m sorry, but when the absurdity of that bizarre three-body-part-in-one phrasing popped in my head, I just had to go with it. Can you tell this is first-and-a-half draft material?]

9. Short pieces like this W.H. work for my limited attention span. In fact, this 450-word post is downright exhausting. [I can only imagine what an ordeal it is for anybody who has read this far.]

Okay, that’s nine reasons, with probably a couple more hovering out there.

So, feel free to keep reading and when you come upon repeated topics, just reassure yourself:   A] “it’s not you, it’s me.” [Thank you, George Costanza.] It’s my experiment. B] My own denseness requires plenty of repetition.

***

photo courtesy of Gratisography