--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mainly, I try not to think about my…" description: "\"Mainly, I try not to think about my readers as I write - I just think of my characters and myself - If they're interesting to me, my hope is that they'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/jacqueline-woodson-1482_books_mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-reade_2426952.jpg" --- # Mainly, I try not to think about my readers as I write - I… ![“Mainly, I try not to think about my readers as I write - I just think of my characters and myself - If they're interesting to me, my hope is that they'll be interesting to others as well.” quote by Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/jacqueline-woodson-1482_books_mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-reade_2426952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/jacqueline-woodson-1482_books_mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-reade_2426952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/jacqueline-woodson-1482_books_mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-reade_2426952.jpg) > “Mainly, I try not to think about my readers as I write - I just think of my characters and myself - If they're interesting to me, my hope is that they'll be interesting to others as well.” [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer should focus on authentic characters rather than audience expectations, trusting that genuine interest will resonate with readers. **In simple terms:** Write for your characters, not the audience. Key Takeaway Create authentic characters to engage readers. Themes authenticity writing audience character development Mood introspective creative Type advice literary When to use this quote - novel drafting - short story creation - character workshops - editorial meetings Key Concepts literary craft empathy self-reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal voice with broader appeal? - What makes a character universally relatable? A Different Perspective If characters are flawed, readers may disengage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I want to create shows which are interesting. I hope that some people are excited by some of the ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-ince/i-want-to-create-shows-which-are-interesting-i-hope-that-some-people/) [Robin Ince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-ince/) > [Obviously, we went after Trump quite a bit, but I also feel like, we can't be on anyone's side, really. We need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/obviously-we-went-after-trump-quite-a-bit-but-i-also-feel-like-we-can/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [January 8 has been a lucky day for me. I have started all my books on that day, and all of them have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/january-8-has-been-a-lucky-day-for-me-i-have-started-all-my-books-on/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Respect and love your readers. Write for the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/respect-and-love-your-readers-write-for-the-reader/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [I try to write about real women, real people - in other words flawed characters. I find flawed characters much more interesting than perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-write-about-real-women-real-people-in-other-words-flawed-2/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I cannot and don't really want to control my mind, soul, or heart when I write and must recognize that I don't think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidija-dimkovska/i-cannot-and-don-t-really-want-to-control-my-mind-soul-or-heart-when/) [Lidija Dimkovska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidija-dimkovska/) > [I think readers are always patient. Look at the 'Harry Potter' series. Some have given up on this generation of kids as game and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/i-think-readers-are-always-patient-look-at-the-harry-potter-series/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [I honestly think our readers are gonna save the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-welteroth/i-honestly-think-our-readers-are-gonna-save-the-world/) [Elaine Welteroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-welteroth/) > [Because I don't give the studios advanced quotes or an advanced look at my reviews. I think the readers deserve to read my reviews…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/because-i-don-t-give-the-studios-advanced-quotes-or-an-advanced-look/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I think there are readers out there and I don't think the book is dead. And more importantly I don't think readers have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-think-there-are-readers-out-there-and-i-don-t-think-the-book-is/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Part of me becomes the characters I'm writing about. I think readers feel like they are there, the way I am, as a result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sachar/part-of-me-becomes-the-characters-i-m-writing-about-i-think-readers/) [Louis Sachar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sachar/) > [I think readers are just looking for things that maybe they recognize or can relate to in the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-think-readers-are-just-looking-for-things-that-maybe-they-recognize/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I think readers either love or hate nonlinear storytelling, and it's true that it can be more difficult, both to write and to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-benjamin/i-think-readers-either-love-or-hate-nonlinear-storytelling-and-it-s/) [Chloe Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-benjamin/) > [I know I love a novel with an unreliable narrator, and I think many readers do as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-barton/i-know-i-love-a-novel-with-an-unreliable-narrator-and-i-think-many/) [Fiona Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-barton/) > [As a rule, I am very skeptical of tying books to anniversaries. I don't think readers care. I also feel that it just about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/as-a-rule-i-am-very-skeptical-of-tying-books-to-anniversaries-i-don-t/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## More by Jacqueline Woodson > [A lot of times, when people send me books to read - new writers mostly - I find that the book is still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/a-lot-of-times-when-people-send-me-books-to-read-new-writers-mostly-i/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I think, even though homophobia still exists, there is much more of a dialogue and a taboo around being homophobic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-think-even-though-homophobia-still-exists-there-is-much-more-of-a/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I still love Carson McCullers and Raymond Carver and Toni Morrison and James Baldwin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-still-love-carson-mccullers-and-raymond-carver-and-toni-morrison/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I'm usually working on several things at once. If I get bored with one, I can go on to another. That way, I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-m-usually-working-on-several-things-at-once-if-i-get-bored-with-one/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [You have those walls up all around you...Come a day you gonna want to tear them down brick by brick and gonna find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/you-have-those-walls-up-all-around-you-come-a-day-you-gonna-want-to/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [“That's all anybody is-themselves. People all the time wanting to change that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/that-s-all-anybody-is-themselves-people-all-the-time-wanting-to/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I don't know how women stop being friends with other women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-don-t-know-how-women-stop-being-friends-with-other-women/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [Who are you without your girls? I truly believe that. Who are you without the people who help you make sense of the misogyny,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/who-are-you-without-your-girls-i-truly-believe-that-who-are-you/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [“And freedom? Oh, freedom. Well that's just some people talking. Your prison is walking through this world all alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/and-freedom-oh-freedom-well-that-s-just-some-people-talking-your/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I've learned about marrying poetry and prose and making both accessible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-ve-learned-about-marrying-poetry-and-prose-and-making-both/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [You're a part of me...You're in my heart. Forever and always, all right? —D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/you-re-a-part-of-me-you-re-in-my-heart-forever-and-always-all-right-d/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I wouldn't mind the early autumn if you came home today I'd tell you how much I miss you and know I'd be okay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-wouldn-t-mind-the-early-autumn-if-you-came-home-today-i-d-tell-you/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > ['Another Brooklyn' came to me in this kind of dreamlike series of vignettes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/another-brooklyn-came-to-me-in-this-kind-of-dreamlike-series-of/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [“They're all inside of us,...past people and present people. And probably even the people we'll become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/they-re-all-inside-of-us-past-people-and-present-people-and-probably/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [When I was a kid, I got in trouble for lying a lot, and I had a teacher say, 'Instead of lying, write it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/when-i-was-a-kid-i-got-in-trouble-for-lying-a-lot-and-i-had-a-teacher/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) [Explore all 237 Jacqueline Woodson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mainly, I try not to think about my readers as I write - I just think of my characters and myself - If they're interesting to me, my hope is that they'll be interesting to others as well.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jacqueline Woodson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-readers-as-i-write-i-just-think-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-readers-as-i-write-i-just-think-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/jacqueline-woodson-1482_books_mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-reade_2426952.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/jacqueline-woodson-1482_books_mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-reade_2426952.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/jacqueline-woodson-1482_books_mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-reade_2426952.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mainly, I try not to think about my readers as I write - I just think of my characters and myself - If…” — Jacqueline Woodson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jacqueline Woodson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mainly, I try not to think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-readers-as-i-write-i-just-think-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/mainly-i-try-not-to-think-about-my-readers-as-i-write-i-just-think-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```