Make your readers care

Ideas on the only goal we really need as writers

Photo by Mr.Autthaporn Pradidpong on Unsplash

Humans eh? We have a tendency to complicate things too much. We get lost in the noise of existence. I was thinking about this on a walk recently. I’m lucky enough to find nature on my doorstep and the health to simply put one foot in front of the other, letting the rhythm of it take over. Walking has always been linked to creativity and well-being. I believe a good stroll provides the space to let go of the tightly held elements of life, like a flower opening itself to the sun.

As in life, so with writing. We get so bound up in all the things we think we need to do to create a good story, that the act of writing can become fraught. Sometimes we need to go on a metaphorical walk and find simplicity.

One way to achieve that, which came to me as I sat at the top of a hill, overlooking a valley of blossoming tree and freshly green fields, is to let go of all the complexities of craft and writing advice ,and focus on one simple thing - care.

 This is, when you really boil it down, our only job as writers – to make the reader care. That can come in many forms - care about the characters, care about what happens next, care enough to move from one sentence to the next, care enough to read deeply, care about the style and language, care what happens from the start and care about what has changed by the end. If your reader cares, then you will have written well. It really is that simple.

Beyond the paywall (because I care about my Paid Subscribers, as well as my Free subscribers) are 10 simple but effective ways to help writers focus on the idea of care.

My hope is that these ideas are either reminders of basics, or a fresh way to look at your writing practice. In a way, this is an example of the very thing I want to explore. Making you care enough to read these ideas and find value in them, make you care enough to share them, comment on them, and use them in your writing journey.