I write stuff I know I cannot send. I write stuff that no one will ever read. I write stuff to get the words out. So, apparently, did Mark Twain

Interesting.  But not me.  I write to communicate.  Even when there seemed little prospect of publication, I wrote for an imaginary readership. I never kept a diary, except for appointments.  I saw no point writing to me about things I already knew.  For me, the (hypothetical) reader was an essential part of the equation. 

I sometimes write just to clear my head, so I can concentrate on what I really want to be writing.  But even then, like Jo, I tend to have a hypothetical reader.  Even more so when writing a factual article.

My 'target reader' even has a name.  He/She is Eddy/Edie MacTuft.  This name was accidentally invented by my dad when he misheard something I said and asked "Who the hell is Edie MacTuft?"

I wish I could remember what the words were supposed be, but it was a long, long time ago.

Gyppo