Target Audience--or What Will My Mother Think?

One of the motivations for my sister and me is that our parents are tuned in to our efforts to write--and to finish--our book. They are in their late 80's--Dad will be 90 in April--and have battled (and mostly conquered) health problems. I guess you might say we feel we have a soft deadline. 

From the first days of the book's inception, we were around our parents, discussing the history of the area in which they live and asking a lot of questions about what life was like 'back in the day'. We've interviewed them both, for the book and just because that's what we do, so, though they don't know a whole lot about the story line, they know their experiences, personalities and even quirks may be reflected directly or indirectly in our characters and the plot itself.

All that has made it more difficult for me to write some of the upcoming scenes that may or may not include--wait for it--sex. Our lead character is a woman in her mid-forties. She has interesting men in her life--one where she works as a college professor, one in her hometown (that bears a striking resemblance to East Grand Forks, MN) and one when she time travels. We (the writers) know where these relationships are going, but not how much detail the reader will enjoy second hand, so to speak. 

I've read some pretty sexy books along the way and often wondered what kind of person writes all that soft porn. Then there was the Girl With a Dragon Tattoo series. Not sure what you call that sex (other than rape). So here I am, deciding whether I'm that kind of person! 

Some practical issues I have to consider are the authenticity of the storyline. If you know me at all you know I will fight like hell to write--with my sister's steadfast input--a story that is the one I want to tell. Another issue is that I don't want to fall into the sugary world of the Hallmark made-for-TV-movie, though those have their place. Do I do like movie directors and insert the required number of F-bombs or nudity to get the movie/book the PG-13 or R rating? I hope not. Do I depict a sexy love scene that adults in their 40's might have? Hmmm. I'm trying to tread lightly here because I've recommended my blog to high school students. But I must admit, brainstorming a love/sex scene is not all bad. :)

Of course I hit the interwebs to find (not only these photos) but articles and blogs about writing to a target audience. I figured maybe someone had suggestions. I didn't read about the sexy part (I dread seeing what I get if I include the word sex in my search string, for starters) but I did find some inspiring and useful tips.

One I found-- http://www.yourwriterplatform.com/how-to-target-an-audience/ had a good checklist that included geographic (check), demographic (maybe), psychographic (?) and behavioural (too deep for me). 

Since we have time travel in our book, I learned that the novel might be categorized as soft sci-fi, which was a new term for me. 

But my favorite link was: http//storyfix.com/6-ways-novelists-can-use-target-marketing-a guest-post-from-jan-bear  
There is a category that the author calls literary sophistication that addresses "unusual narrative techniques for their own sake". Jan Bear references the novel Time Zone by Tom Lichtenberg and discusses the way he uses time travel to show a variety of character interactions and character development. Our plot is not exactly like that, but is similar. As novice writers, it felt like quite a validation--that it's good to write in a way that feels natural--even if it's quirky. Maybe it will hit a target audience and maybe it won't, but at least it won't get lost on the romance novel shelves...assuming it gets on anyones shelf!

So what all this has to do with my target audience is that I'm about to decide--is my mom (or dad*) at the top of my target audience or do I include mildly sexy scenes? Do I avoid sex in order to give the story line more of an historic angle? And then there's the question of what intimate sexual relationships do to tarnish or give credibility to the character of our heroine. 

I believe I mentioned this blog is about the writing of a novel (not the end product)--which, by the way, I can happily report is now nearing the halfway point. So, I guess you'll have to read it to see how steamy it gets...or doesn't. (Sorry, Mom :).) The next scenes I write will answer all these questions and as someone famous once said, "How do I know that I think before I see what I say?".

*Did I ever tell you about how my mom made my dad have a talk with me after they saw the statue I'd carved of a pregnant woman for the high school art show? I point this out only so you don't doubt their level of intolerance for controversy of a sexual nature!