Writing to Different Generations

The show this week has to do with an experience I had recently which, while not intending to be writing focused, has profound implications for me and my fellow writers. So, sit back and enjoy the show. This one is going to be deep.

Never before have we faced a situation where four generations simultaneously have access to social media networks that allow them to reach across the world instantaneously. While this sounds like it would be a good thing, it poses some very interesting problems for writers.

Question, how do you reach those different audiences?  Even at a more basic level, how do you write books which are going to appeal to those different demographics. The answer that question is that you’re really not.

But the differences are not necessarily just one of size. The baby boomer generation was told early on that if they stuck with their jobs, at retirement that job would take care of them. My generation, Generation X, was told that we couldn’t rely on our jobs and therefore we needed be prepared for layoffs at any moment and we would have to rely on Social Security. Paradoxically, at the same time, we were being told that Social Security was in trouble and might not exist when we were ready to retire.

The millennials coined the phrase move on to move up. They look at a job, not necessarily as a career in one company, but a career path which may actually include several different companies. Generation Z, will likely have a very similar type of outlook, while in some ways they have a lot in common with the GenXers.

In terms of writing, a millennial reader is not necessarily going to understand if a character in a book remains committed to one company, or one organization for their entire lives. That character may not seem real to them. It’s also true that a Gen Xer is likely going to look at a character in a book which moves from job to job to job as unfocused and unreliable. Where a millennial would look at that character and consider that really the norm. Because remember, “move on to move up.”

Millennial’s were always taught that there is a world which is in constant peril. They are all in on social justice, and what they see is a balancing out of fundamental rights. This means that they’re going to generally be attracted to books and movies which have a social undertone. There is a huge market for works with a social message behind them which may have been completely lost or just seem preachy to readers even ten years ago.

For me this is especially difficult because I don’t generally have a social undertone in my work. I write purely to entertain, an idea that would seem strange to a millennial, but be perfectly at home with the baby boomer. A Gen X or would also see it in the same way, but would be likely more attracted to books which show a truly bad antagonist if I write that antagonist as big business.

A millennial or generation Z member likely would see an evil antagonist more in terms of the moral relativity which can spring from trying to understand that antagonist’s point of view.

I do want to stop here and just say that I don’t necessarily see anything bad or good in any of this. It’s just different ways of looking at the world. And again, the issue is that all of these generations exist in the exact same time and space. It makes writing to maximum appeal especially difficult. Write to one and you alienate the others. Try to write to all of them and you may lose any chance to hook them.

It isn't easy, but you can do it as long as you keep in mind how different generations are going to see your writing.

Thanks for listening!

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