It’s not (always) about what you’re interested in, it’s about what they’re interested in.

Put yourself in their shoes. What do they want to do? Do that.

Not all the time, not every case, there are no hard and fast rules, but once in a while, think, “What would they really like to do?”

My son’s grandma wants to go to Glide Church tomorrow. My son would rather sleep over at his friend’s house (and play Xbox). What are we going to do? We’re going to Glide. My boys will actually like it, but that’s not the point. The point is that their grandma wants to go so we’re going to go because that’s what she wants to do and we want to do something that she wants to do.

Please note, dear boys, today, for example, our entire day was devoted to stuff that you want to do: soccer, Halloween trick or treating and Halloween party. It’s all you. Tomorrow is something that she’d like to do, so we’re going to do that. Just saying.

Tomorrow I start the second book in the Markree Castle adventure. Should the book be the one I want to write or the one the boys want to write?

It’s Halloween, October 31, 2015 and tomorrow morning I’m going to start writing the second book of the Markree Castle. I didn’t do an outline, I have it in my head. I haven’t done character sketches, I’m depending on emails from my pal’s kids with their random thoughts. I write this to record this history because this book with either wallow away in the dusty shelves of unread books or will rocket to stardom. Just saying.

Who’s it for? Who’s the audience? Who do you write your book for? Whom do you please in the day? What’s the percentage, the pie chart of the reasons you do the things you do? What should they be? Who makes those guidelines?

What do you do?