@KatyKauffman28

I thought of them as I wrote my first book—my best friend who has four children, another good friend who has survived trial after trial, and the women in a Sunday school I once belonged to. I wanted to remember their everyday struggles and concerns. I didn’t want to give pat answers or offer easy fixes. Remembering “real life” helped me as I wrote my first Bible study.

Who are you writing to? When you sit at your desk and start to write, do you string words together to speak to a vague audience—those people whom you don’t know but hope will buy your book? Or do you write to people you know? To the people you love? When we identify the strengths, struggles, and concerns of the people we’re writing to—even specific people—it makes our writing richer. More personal. More “real.”

I once asked Andy Andrews at a Women of Faith Conference whom he wrote to. I submitted my question on an index card, along with myriads of other women (and a few brave men), and I was surprised when my question was read on stage. It went something like this: Are there specific people you think of when you write your books? There were. Andy said that he thought of close family and friends as he wrote. I even think he said that he visualized their faces.

We don’t write to an ethereal audience. We write to real people with real concerns. When you write a Bible study or devotional blog post, think of the faces of the people who mean the most to you. Think of what you would want to tell them to help them go through a difficult time or how you would encourage them to keep following God. Include the best material you can get from God in Bible study and prayer. Identify your target audience, and remember the needs and concerns they have as you write.

Also include in your books and blog posts what would help you. Very often we become the audience for our own books, as God teaches us and gives us principles for everyday living. The author is both writer and reader, recipient and teacher. As God encourages us, we can encourage others.

I’m not suggesting that we ever divulge someone’s personal information. Or that we name them in our book. Far from it! But the struggles we’ve gone through and the concerns we know that others face, can shape how we talk about our subject, so that we stay connected to reality, real needs, and real victories. Always remember to whom you are writing, and give real answers for real concerns of the heart. Those are the kinds of books and blog posts I like to read again and again.

When you write, do you ever visualize yourself talking to a particular friend or loved one? Do you have a particular audience that you write to—friends, young moms, business people, or teens? Share your thoughts below, and keep writing!

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations. Her compilation, Heart Renovation: A Construction Guide to Godly Character, was a 2019 Selah Awards finalist and Director’s Choice finalist at BRMCWC. Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, the Arise Dailyblog, PursueMagazine.net, and two blogs on writing. She loves spending time with family and friends, making jewelry, and hunting for the best donuts. Connect with her at her blog, The Scrapbooked Bible Study, and on Facebookand Twitter.