Why do writers write? Most writers give these reasons :
- To release their often complex and convoluted thoughts, providing an effective source of grounding and stress release, taking a greater burden off of their shoulders
- To speak to an audience — to get something off their chest - most of the time when they find something not right happening around them
- To create and maintain relationships with people around the world
- To share their lives, their travel, their experiences
- To help readers by educating or inspiring an audience to develop any number of greater understanding, skills, or expertise in any given topic
- To find rest and repose amidst an incredibly busy and bustling life — an oasis found through the writing process and its fruition
- To find themselves…. out of a search through hundreds of thousands of letters, words, and phrases linked together by only one unique thread of commonality, that which is the writer who steps forward with pride and craftsmanship
- To earn money!
Recently a strange thing happened. A serial story writer told me sometime back she studies the world around her in great detail and gives a message to people through her stories if she finds something is not right. 'Great', I thought, and felt happy about it.
But to my horror, I realized two days back she lost her courage of conviction as she was a professional writer.
In her recent story, the heroine tries to reform the hero who was 'somewhat bad' as he was brought up by his devil-like aunt.
She gives her word to the hero's father too that she would 'change him'. She decides not to marry him until he changes.
I supported the writer's story line when she faced criticism because of this.
But the readers/audience (as this story is being telecast as a TV serial too) who 're mostly students, youngsters, the uneducated and house wives didn't like it. They wanted the heroine to marry the hero whether he changes or not and that she shouldn't try to change him! They brought so much pressure on the direction department and the writer that she changed her story line and obliged the audience!
The heroine went back on her words giving silly reasons! She even apologized for trying to make him good! The writer made a huge U-turn!
HMMM! Courage of conviction? Where is it? The writer lacks the confidence to do what she believes is right - Just because other people didn't not agree or approve it. If she doesn't dance to their tunes, the audience will feel bad and don't follow her!
Fear of losing her followers! Fear of losing money! Fear of losing popularity!
What a fear?! What a mess?! And where are we heading?
I felt extremely sad. Because ....
I am a writer too. When I wrote on pseudo-science and superstitions like black magic, astrology and vastu I was threatened, bullied, harassed, stalked, and intimidated.
I understand people might not follow me because I speak facts people don't want to listen to. My writings cause disruptions in their belief system, burden their minds, and might make them hate me. But still I do what I believe is right.
I cannot change my evidence based facts to please people. I cannot play with emotions and promote pseudo-science to satisfy human ego.
I cannot support superstitions just because everybody around me follows them!
I cannot change the science my peers had established.
Even if 80% of the people don't like what you are saying, you should write for the 20% who are loyal to you and hope that the rest of the people too will come to their senses after reading the message you are conveying.
You cannot change your story line and message just because your readers don't like it!
Intellectuals should stick to their intellectuality and shouldn't go the stupid ways others follow.
Conviction, defined as a person’s firm belief in a point or argument, is what makes any excellent written content effective. By injecting undeniable conviction into their output, a content/story writer shows that they are confident that what they have written is true and correct. Thus, it can convince readers to agree to what they are saying.
The courage of your convictions is a force that compels you to stand up and speak up when things are wrong. It's something that drives you to action and pushes back fear of speaking up.
It's too easy to see a problem and make the assessment that it's not "my responsibility" therefore I won't take any action. We are afraid that what we do or say may not make any difference. We are concerned about our solutions failing. We don't want to be wrong or make it worse. We don't want to lose face. But if we all hesitated to act, if we ignored our convictions where would change come from?
A writer should have this fearlessness and determination. Otherwise s/he shouldn't enter the writing field at all.
If a writer can't do that, that means s/he doesn't have the necessary skills to write.
Persuasive writing is used in many different forms of communication – from op-eds and reviews to advertising copies and even stories. When writing effective and persuasive copy, you need to use a combination of thorough research, the careful use of words, and a passion for the topic you’re writing about.
There are few tips to writing convincingly:
The first thing you need to do before writing just about anything is to do some research about your target audience. After all, they are the ones whom you need to convince to agree with you in the first place.
Studying your audience allows you to know the specific preferences and language that the demographic you’re targeting will understand. It can also help you craft a piece that will make them feel a sense of connection with you and the topic you’re writing about.
The writer should be very passionate about her subject and truly believe in its trustworthiness.
This will help the ideas flow more freely, giving you an edge in weaving a highly convincing piece or story. Topics that are in line with the writer’s own sensibilities also makes both research and defense against naysayers a whole lot easier.
In order to persuade people with a point you’re trying to make, it is important that they are able to follow and understand it. This means you should make sure that your thoughts and ideas are organized into a concise flow that is understandable even from the perspective of non-experts.
To achieve this, you should present your point in a clear statement. From there, proceed with your supporting ideas presented in a logical format and anchored in with analysis and evidence. It would also be good to learn about opposing ideas so that you can prepare a counter-argument and further cement the credibility of the point you’re trying to make.
Another secret to making your written piece a lot more convincing and persuasive is to reconsider the words you use. Stick to strong, clear and straightforward words and phrases, and avoid weak ones.
Adopt an affirmative tone. Never give hints to your readers that you are not sure about what you are writing.
Aside from the word choice, you also need to watch the tone of voice you’re using when writing a persuasive piece. To present your point with conviction, try to avoid the negative approach whenever possible.
"Must act" will be more affirmative than "should act".
Emotional manipulations are okay if they don't interfere with facts.
Be very independent. If you are writing for commercial purposes, these things bound to happen. But still you should firmly believe in what you say and stick to it no matter what.
To write with conviction also means you have to get straight to the point. Emphasis is another strategy you can use to make readers remember your point and agree with it. Of course, hyperbolic statements shouldn’t be taken literally. They are only meant to help readers get a clearer picture.
Writing for the primary purpose of persuading people to side with you or act on your opinion is not as difficult as it sounds. In fact, many expert writers have proven that it is far from an unattainable feat.
The key is to write with conviction. When your output reflects how strongly you believe in your argument, then your audience is bound to follow suit.
Your readers must follow you, not you, your readers! That is the sign of a good writer!
Permalink Reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on
