Who do you want to write for, and why? This may sound like a daft question, but you need to know who you want to write for, and why, before starting your novel. We can have what we think is a brilliant idea for a story, but we need to check that it will resonate with our target readers.
What was relevant when we were younger might not be so relevant now – times and culture change, along with fashions and even names (I am of the Janet era – you can pretty much guess how old I am by my name!).
If you want to write for ten-year-old boys, find out what they like, what they hate, what they spend their time doing, what they would spend their time doing if they could (important difference!) . . . and write a book with characters, a plot and a setting they will find compelling. Don’t know what they like? Ask them!
We look into this in more detail on the Write for a Reason course – maybe see you there? 🙂