So often, I hear writ­ers say, “I only write for myself.”

I hear myself so often say, “I only write for myself.”

And that’s true—but only partly.

Yes, I only write about the things that inter­est or delight me, that make me curi­ous or angry, or in some way touch me.

But that delight, con­cern, curios­i­ty must be trans­lat­ed for my reader.

What I chose to tell, and how I chose to tell it, always begins with the read­er. I don’t write a word until I under­stand who it is I’m writ­ing for.

For instance, know­ing Box­es for Kat­je was going to be a pic­ture book for 2nd and 3rd graders meant Mrs. Ull­rich had to go. If I had been writ­ing the sto­ry for old­er readers—say 5^th and 6^th graders—I might have left her in. She’d have made a fas­ci­nat­ing sub­plot in a longer piece.