Recently, I read an interview with Nicholas Sparks on WritersDigest.com. Since he has become such a successful author, I was interested in reading about his views on the process of writing creatively.

The editor of Writer's Digest, Jessica Stawser, conducted the interview and asked some very pointed questions. I found that a lot of the questions pertained to the discussions my advanced composition class has had throughout the semester. For example, Stawser asked, "How much do you think about your readers as your write?" Sparks answered by saying, "Not so much as I write, but as I conceive a story, they're certainly in my mind, because I write stories that I want the readers to enjoy. And I think that is probably one of the main elements of writing that young writers will hopefully take to heart. And that is to write what readers want to read, which isn't necessarily what you want to write."

I agree with Sparks' answer. I think it's very important for an author to identify his/her audience. If you're writing for your own personal enjoyment, then by all means, write what you want to write. But if you hope to share your writing with others, you need to capture your readers by writing what they want. Readers need to identify with what they're reading or else they won't continue reading it. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that writers will always be forced to write stories that they would never personally read, but it does mean that the audience comes first.

Another question that Stawser asked was, "When you come out and say that a character was loosely based on someone you know, do you ever worry about how those people will react?" Sparks responded, " No, because there are always differences--what they do for a living is probably different, their age is probably different, you know, they've never been in any of these exact circumstances--so no, I've never gotten into trouble for that."

This part of the interviewed reminded me of our class discussion on composite characters. "Keep It Real" defines a composite characters as "the melding of two or more real people into one." It's a tricky technique because some believe the use of composite characters automatically places the work into the fiction category. One reason for using composite figures is the fact that "friends and family who did not ask to be in your story expect their confidences to remain confidential." I don't think that composite characters are completely fiction. I think they are acceptable in creative nonfiction but definitely not just the nonfiction genre.

Stawer goes on saying, "You got your big break early in your career, but publishing is always changing. What have been your biggest learning experience? Sparks answered," Every industry is changing, and it's just an inevitable part. That doesn't change the intrinsic human desire to share in good stories. Human nature changes a lot slower than does the business world." He went on to offer a challenge, " I also think it's important to realize that to get published, you're not competing against me, or Stephen King, or John Grisham--we have spent years developing audiences that we bring to the table. So, you have to write better than we do, or more originally, or have more original stories, or work in a genre that has a need."

I found this quote pretty intimidating. How can I write better than amazing authors like that? Maybe I can, maybe I can't. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. I can't base my career on trying to mimic other writers. Writing, for me, is about creating the best work that I can and staying true to myself in the process.