The Library · Workshop 09 · Mastery
Writing for Someone Specific
Five steps. About 25 minutes. Up to 7 stars. The constellation you're building is called First Reader.
The Library · Workshop 09 · Mastery
Five steps. About 25 minutes. Up to 7 stars. The constellation you're building is called First Reader.
When you write for everyone, you usually write for nobody. Pick one specific reader and write to them — the writing gets sharper, faster, more honest.
Writing for "general readers" tempts you to be safe. You explain too much. You hedge. You use words you wouldn't use with a friend.
Writing for one specific reader does the opposite. You stop explaining what they already know. You include the joke they'd get. You skip the parts they'd skip.
By the end of this workshop you'll have written the same short message twice — once for everyone, once for one specific person — and felt the difference.
That's the warm-up. When you've actually read it — not skimmed — tap below.
Pick all that fit.
Click a reader, then a fitting move.
Pick any message (an opinion, a piece of news, a recommendation). Write it once for a general audience. Then rewrite it for one specific person you know — and notice what changed.
Stuck? Write a recommendation for a song. Version 1 for everyone. Version 2 for your best friend who already knows your taste. Notice how much you can skip in version 2.
One sentence.