How do you write what people actually want to read?

In these contemplative reflections on writing, the septuagenarian explores the complexities of self-expression and the desire to please an audience. Initially, his writings, which focus on nature and human life, served his own satisfaction rather than the needs of readers. Despite facing frustrations with publishing and the competitive landscape of digital content, he emphasises the importance of maintaining authenticity over conforming to popular trends. The influx of AI-generated writing and the demand for quick, sensational content often compromise quality. Ultimately, he advocates for patience and commitment to delivering reliable, thought-provoking literature, underscoring that genuine writing resonates with discerning readers.

Cogitation

Sitting in his study, he was brooding about his writing. Just had his morning cup of tea while his mind was trying to settle on a topic or two that usually hovered in his mind. He doesn’t boast about his writing skill, nor does he consider himself a great writer. Thoughts come in and emerge on the computer screen as letters forming words and words forming sentences, sentences forming paragraphs, as he typed. The septuagenarian knew about computer operations, and he was at ease in typing on its console. Most of his writing is reflective with a philosophical undertone. He usually writes about Nature and related topics and things related to the convolutions of human life, dispassionately. Though emotions often creep in, they are tangential.

Writing: Expressing thoughts

Writing is a medium of expression, especially self-expression. Initially, he started writing on rough sheets, which he later tore up. He would feel light after his simmering thoughts were ventilated. Later, he began writing diaries. He used to write whatever came to his mind, probably not orderly and synchronised, but candid expression. This gave him a flair for writing which later, during his journey, became a tool for self-expression. He never thought about writing for an audience or reader. It was for his self-satisfaction, but after finishing a post, he would cast a glance at it to revisit the thought. While going through it, he would dot the I’s and cross the T’s. It gradually became his habit.

Never satisfied

Writing appeared daunting in the beginning, especially at the start. Sometimes, it gave him a negative feeling about writing, but then, almost immediately, he would curse even more for not writing. He read a fair amount of material. Reading, listening to news items, watching and passively involving in debate would instigate his thoughts to come out, and he would pen them down. Besides scientific stuff, he would read philosophy, history and current affairs. The reading helped him express his thoughts in an organised and logical manner. Nonetheless, he was never satisfied with his writing, but each time he wrote in the same flow and tone. He couldn’t change it.

The famous author and philosopher Franz Kafka had said:

“Don‘t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”

-Franz Kafka

No one can please everyone

While writing, he never bothered to edit his own soul according to the people’s demands and desires. The world is vast, with myriads of people with a variety of tastes and likes. It is impossible to please everyone; therefore, it is no surprise if his writing appears to some as a heap of unorganised sentences. His writings can be compared with a raw picture in the present digital photography parlance. Nonetheless, he makes it a point not to present wrong, misleading or sensational facts; he checks every fact and the correctness of language before finalising it. (Muse Journal)

Writing: Struggle for publishing

With time, as he progressed in life, he wanted and tried to publish his pieces. In the old days, publishing used to be an impenetrable world of publishers and publishing houses. The pieces would come back unpublished with a printed slip expressing regret for not publishing them, with a stereotyped “not found fit” message. It used to be frustrating; taking it professionally meant a lot of compromises and adjustments. Publishers and editors would fall heavily on the pieces to scalpel them to fit it in limited space, killing the very soul of the piece.

Repeated returns

Many of his pieces returned unpublished. Later, he read that they couldn’t give space to an unknown person. Magazines and newspapers vie for celebrities to attract readers. Some of his pieces published with the pictures he took, but after heavy edits, perhaps because of the constraints. Professional affairs need a lot of adjustments, and if need be, compromises. The competitive world of publishing was not any exception. Even a few published lines would give him pleasure and a sense of elation to him. Viewing name in print as an author was enthralling.

Technology and writing

As computers started gaining ground, things and affairs began changing. Manual work was gradually replaced by computers and robots. Artificial Intelligence revolutionised the whole world. With this, a new breed of writers mushroomed. The number of neo-writers surged, who taking advantage of AI technique produce pieces of writing and boast about their writing skill. Digital platforms flooded with digital writing started drowning readers. An increasing wish to be noticed, views, likes and followers caused compromised content. The more sensational, the more saleable content is. A plethora of written content flooded the digital world, making it difficult for serious writers and good content to come up. The world, which was once in the grip of publishers, has become enslaved by the algorithm. It is this which determines which content should be shown, when and how many times.

Machine driven writing

The cutthroat competition for views necessitated the need of more and more machine-driven activities which are programmed to take into consideration material things, irrespective of their quality. Pieces of writing are produced like goods in a factory, lacking human touch. In this mad rat race, quality is lagging; substandard and sensational content, especially visual contents are in prominence. The fast-moving world has no patience for reading serious, quality literature. The digital content is modified according to the usage. It may be in a mobile format, desktop or laptop format. The web world (www) is further shrinking to mobile and laptop applications, which are easy to load and scroll.

Encapsulated and readymade

The fast-moving humans are becoming addicted to swallowing pills of information, thus giving importance to encapsulated information, easy to swallow. Food needs to be chewed to enjoy and relish the goodness of its aroma, flavour and taste before swollen. So are good literature and written work. Consumerism and lust for having more causes to bite more than what one can chew. The obvious fallout of it all is the desire to have things immediately. It gives rise to many things like reel creation and poor, sometimes vulgar content. This is true of writing equally.

Writing for wider purpose

A writer writes to serve the purpose of a wider audience and usually has no consideration for likes and disliking of people. It is people’s discretion to like a piece or not. Prior baring about the people’s interests, as is prevalent nowadays, will not be true to its spirit. Artificiality creeps in, making the piece a nicely arranged set of words and sentences sans soul and substance. People are intelligent; they quickly sense it, and after an initial surge, it takes a nosedive. It is good to follow inner voice and write things that comes straight from the heart, without contaminating it. People detect it and choose according to their choice of genre. Serious readers search for good quality and thought provoking pieces, but the important thing is about their exposure.

Quality surpasses

Modern technology is helping writers and content creators. By making their piece SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) compliant, a piece gets a chance to show up on the web. The drowning web world has millions of pieces of content, both written and visual. To show their creative work, it has to have outstanding qualities. It can be content quality, its reliability, dispassionate analysis and relatable facts. These ingredients make a piece good and worthy of readers’ attention.

In the end

All said, it is more important to have patience. It takes time to build a reputation. Exposure and good-quality content help build a strong and loyal audience base. They repeatedly come with the hope of getting more quality content. To keep it up, it is essential not to betray the genuine readers. The endeavour should be to give them identifiable facts and reliable figures. The logical argument and better presentation help build a reputation as an informed and balanced writer. It is a good practice not to become lopsided and biased. Even readers of a particular ideology or thought process detest such content after some time.

Writing without compromising inner consciousness and facts is good and serves the purpose well. With time, it grows and strengthens. Good habits, though, take time to show and pay off later, but in the long run, they are beneficial.

Further reads:

• Impact of Law Changes on Crime in India
• The Joy of Thoughtful Reading
• Understanding Indian History: Bias and Truth
• Words That Change the World: The Power of Writing
• The Power of Daily Writing: Express Yourself

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