Also, Shadows and Monsters – Note: This post contains personal disclosure and some serious stuff, proving that it’s not all fun, fun, fun, at least in the formative years of A.D. Everard – Yesterday, I wrote a post titled, “Don’t worry about your readers, just be yourself,” in which I promoted the idea that if you write to please yourself first and foremost, the right readers will find you.

It’s a big issue, this who-to-write-for thing, and I am reminded of a big old house with lots of nooks and crannies hiding shadows and monsters. Only, which are the shadows and which are the monsters? In so far as a writer’s psyche can have nooks and crannies, the shadows and monsters hiding there are a great assortment of fears and worries, of doubts and guilt. Some are real. Most are not.

Writers are EMPATHIC. That means they FEEL.

Unfortunately, that also means they are prey to subtle and not-so-subtle manipulation of people surrounding them who suffer from shadows and monsters of their own. Not all of this is deliberate, in fact, I’m sure most of it is subconscious, I’m just saying it’s there. Few fields of endeavor are so open to casual abuse.

If you doubt that, consider this: I can’t think of any writer who hasn’t had a “real” job at some point. So, when you were a shop assistant, a bank clerk, an engineer, a truck-driver – whatever – how often did friends and relatives sit around evaluating your skill or critiquing your efforts? How often did they tell you how to do it?

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