Addressing the Paradox

In his “craft” book, On Writing Well, author William Zinsser acknowledges a paradox that arises from the fundamental question, “Who am I writing for?”. When the need to write presents itself in the form of social media posts, thoughtful opinion pieces, or brand-wide mission statements, you may envision “The Audience” as the conglomerate who will consume your content. Zinsser argues against this. “Don’t try to visualize the great mass audience,” he instructs, “there is no such audience.” (p. 24). Instead, he urges you to write for yourself, attributing the distinction between audience and self to “craft” and “attitude”.

This statement, “write for yourself,” is itself a paradoxical stance. However, Zinsser’s point is that your personality (“attitude”) should shine through your writing. That’s what “writing for yourself” means: you should enjoy writing, and your writing should be an act of self-expression. There is a time and place for you to ask, “Who am I writing for?”, but you should ask it in a broader sense. Are you writing something self-indulgent? Piecing together an argument? Presenting unbiased facts? Each piece, each article, constitutes a different audience — and a different mindset.

A moment ago, I mentioned neutrality and accessibility. This duo’s rightful third companion is simplicity. This is a crucial pillar in mastering the written word (and mastering that “craft” I keep repeating myself about), and it’s just as necessary in technical writing. Trivial embellishments have no place in user manuals and instructions; they’ll only account for confusion and distraction. In the words of author Michael Knowles, “nobody wants to read a tech manual” (“Succeeding as a Technical Writer”, 2001). As such, he argues that an important rule in technical writing is “don’t waste the [reader’s] time”. This rule is succeeded by “keep it simple”, in which Knowles explicitly states, “Save your beautiful prose and love of great words for your novel” (Ibid.). Adorning your manual or support article will not only increase its complexity, but will also waste “at least three people’s time: the customer’s, the support person’s, and yours” (Ibid.). Didn’t Knowles just warn against wasting your user’s (reader’s) time? Save that “attitude” and personality for your novels and tweets.

I don’t need anecdotes, I need answers.

So… Is the Audience Really A Lie?

When sitting down to write, the first thing you’ll most likely ask yourself is who your audience is. A simple, fundamental question, and yet a paradoxical one — and you struggle to distinguish between writing for yourself and a self-prescribed audience. Author William Zinsser notes that this distinction shouldn’t be between you and your audience, but between your skill and your personality. Everything you draft should be built on a solid foundation and understanding of basic principles. This is a reflection of your skill.

Whether your reader is interested in your material, however, may be a result of a lack of personality, marked by your lack of enjoyment in writing. Most writing should be an expression of ego and creativity, but some things (such as technical writing) should focus on skill and craft, only. Distinguishing between writing for yourself and your audience is important in certain scenarios (e.g., technical writing vs. not), but should supplement the initial distinction between craft and skill.

So, no, the audience isn’t really a lie. They do, indeed, exist. The cake, however, is something you’ll have to find out about for yourself.

The key to Zinsser’s paradox is to write for yourself, but write in a manner that is both masterful and consumable.