Why My Readers Inspire Me

Writers are complex individuals; we are inspired by many different things. The world around us is a constant source of stimulation and we derive our ideas from people, places, current events, influences from our own lives. But if you ask a writer the question who do you write for, the answer will often be ‘I write for myself: if I enjoy what I write, then so will my readers.’

I’ve thought about this question frequently, and my personal belief is that I write for my readers first. It follows that I have to ask myself who my reader is: if I can’t identify readers’ expectations, how can I write for them?

My readers are women, yes, but they aren’t all women; they are adults, certainly, but they aren’t all over fifty. They are compassionate, kind-hearted people who like to laugh and to empathise and sometimes to cry. But most of all, I suspect my readers want to be entertained: my background is in teaching theatre and entertainment is what I love to provide. Suspension of disbelief, tension, resolution, exciting settings, the opportunity for a character to develop, to reflect, to reach out to others: that’s the substance my novels are made of.

My readers inspire me to make my stories the best they can be. When I wrote about Evie Gallagher’s escapades across France in A Grand Old Time, several people messaged me that they’d decided on a similar jaunt, or that their mother had bought a camper van and was off to have some similar fun. One man wrote to me that Evie’s son Brendan had the sort of dilemmas about work and marriage that he was experiencing himself and he found Brendan’s situation comforting, especially as it was resolved by the end of the novel.

In The Age of Misadventure, Nanny Basham’s behaviour prompted a reader to tell me that she understood the character’s initial grumpiness based on her own lonely existence. Another reader told me she wept when the three main characters, Nanny and her nieces, snuggled in one bed together and reminisced about their shared past.

Five French Hens deals with five very different women in their seventies on a hen party in Paris. A young man messaged that he adored reliving the scenes with Rose in the night clubs. A woman emailed that she and her best friends identified so closely with Jen and the hens that they were planning a trip to Paris together to visit the same sights.

The Old Girls’ Network is about two sisters, Barbara and Pauline, who take in a newcomer, Bisto Mulligan, into the close-knit community of Winsley Green. I’ve had plenty of messages about how their antics made readers laugh and how they loved how the characters develop and resolve past issues.

Many people wrote to say that they like to read books featuring older women. I created the first protagonist for my mum: Evie in her seventies is everything my mum would have been if she’d lasted that long. She loved to read about characters that she could identify with, someone resilient, flawed, mischievous, outspoken and gregarious.

Certainly, older people often appear as subsidiary characters in novels, fulfilling the role of grandparent, benefactor, advisor, often fading into the background as the younger person’s story unfolds. That’s fine: I’m a believer in inclusivity: someone has to be a main protagonist, others have to fulfil the needs of the story, but it’s nice sometimes to feature a character who, although she may be in her seventies, has a life to live, fun to have and can travel, change, fall in love, push boundaries.

My readers’ reactions inspire me to create more characters in this genre: my next novel features a couple in their seventies who initially appear to be misfits, but later become central to a community.

I received two comments this week, both saying similar things, one from a woman in her fifties and another from a twenty-four-year-old. The first woman told me her mum had read all of my books and enjoyed them: she had been feeling low due to lockdown. The second woman said her gran loved my books. Both women had borrowed a novel and were pleasantly surprised how they’d empathized with the older characters.

The first woman is a mum with a busy career; the second runs her own business and has just suffered a miscarriage. I was inspired by how both women found the characters relevant, how they enjoyed the opportunity to laugh at the adventures and how they empathised with the dilemmas.

Of course, I’m never surprised when women of all ages read about young protagonists who are just starting out on life’s journey, but when younger readers enjoy the adventures of older people who are looking for a second chance, I want to cheer.

So, when I write, I keep my audience in mind; they are fun, warm, empathic and compassionate people who want to laugh, to cry and to read a story that shows that life is there to be grasped, to be enjoyed, lived for the moment, and when conflicts arise, communities and friends and family are there to support each other.

After all, isn’t that what we all want? And, whatever our age, we hope to live to be old and to enjoy new freedoms: the chance to misbehave and to love and to start again as our situations evolve. So, to my readers I say a huge thank you – without you, my older, wise and wild characters like Evie, Nanny, Rose and Barbara just wouldn’t exist.

—

THE OLD GIRL’S NETWORK

It’s never too late to change…

After a health scare, 77 year-old spinster Barbara goes to convalesce in the sleepy Somerset village of Winsley Green with her sister Pauline. The sisters are chalk and cheese – Barbara, outspoken and aloof and Pauline, good natured and homely – so it’s not long before the tension starts to rise.

When Pauline accidentally knocks down a vagrant called Bisto Mulligan, the ladies find themselves with another houseguest. As he recovers, it becomes apparent that Bisto is not who he first seemed and, as the sisters get to know the kind and courageous man he really is, it’s clear Bisto could change both of their lives.

As the spring turns to summer, and Winsley Green comes to life, can the three friends make the changes they need to, to embrace fresh starts, new loves, new lives and new horizons. Or do old habits die too hard?

Funny, joyful and with a spring in its step that reminds you to live every day like it’s your last. Judy Leigh has once again written the perfect feel-good novel for all fans of Dawn French, Dee MacDonald and Cathy Hopkins.

Praise for Judy Leigh’s books:

‘Brilliantly funny, emotional and uplifting’ Miranda Dickinson

‘Lovely . . . a book that assures that life is far from over at seventy’ Cathy Hopkins bestselling author of The Kicking the Bucket List

‘Brimming with warmth, humour and a love of life… a wonderful escapade’ Fiona Gibson, bestselling author of The Woman Who Upped and Left

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing