Writing tips (1 of 20). Write for yourself

Write for yourself
The first - and most important - person to write for is yourself! If youdon't enjoy what you've written, or understand it, or if you're not entertained by it (depending on the subject matter), you can't really expect others to be, either.
I've found that a very good way for checking up on myself - to see whether it makes sense, is funny (if that's what I want to achieve), or explains something - is to stop fidgeting, pay attention,and read the material aloud to myself.
The next thing, if it passes this self-testing process, is to ask someone else to read it to themselves. It's OK to ask someone close to you to do this, as long as you remember that he or she might be inclined to be 'soft' on you, to say nice things about it. I love this bit, because, knowing that my work is brilliant, a little bit of early flattery is always welcome.
HOWEVER, this is NOT much good if your intention is an audience of people who don't or might not know you, so you really do need to get the opinion of people without the biases of family or friends (unless you can find one who you can trust to be objectively critical). I was very lucky with my most recent book Ranga Plays Australia (http://www.lulu.com/content/1855128), as the person who asked me to write it was also able to make a number of wonderful suggestions that I would never have thought of myself! Yes, it was painful, but remember the cliche no pain, no gain!