Stacey+Article

As I read Stacey's article, one word stuck out like a sore thumb to me, that word is "made-up audience" I have to wonder what or whom Stacey means by this term. Is it the self-assessment inherent in writing? Is it the implication that our professors are our "made-up audience"?

Could it be the idea that we write in order to obtain an audience or do we write to a specific audience? Moreover, do we know what or who our audience is?

I have been an active member of the composition community for over a decade now and as a graduate student, I am only now truly comprehending what an audience is, and determining who this is in regards to my own writing. Thus, how can we instruct writing students the process of writing without fully illustrating to them who or what an audience is for them?

Maybe Stacey is claiming that if/when we do attempt writing instruction, that we are "making-up" an audience for our students. So, I find myself wondering about how students can find their own voice, when they have no understanding of who/whom has is receiving that voice.

Will students edit their own voice to fit what they think a potential audience wants to hear, or will they allow themselves the freedom to locate their own voice, capturing the audience on their //own//?

On the other hand, is it possible that audience awareness assists in developing a voice? I find myself at the beginning of my questioning again, which leads me to believe I may be on to something here. Alas, it sounds much like the chicken or the egg argument a bit, which is a little disheartening :/