Becoming publishable
Featured Articles
You might also like:
Choosing Non-fiction Book Topics
Writing to Change the World (Hardcover) by Mary Pipher
Writing to Change Attitudes
As writers, we often dream of changing the world with our words. We can reach a larger audience with our written words than we could giving a speech somewhere, and our articles or blog posts can live on to
continue influencing people for years to come. To have the greatest impact, however, you need to think about how to best use your influence.
Who is your audience?
Are you writing to people who already believe, or are you trying to change people? If you’re writing to those who already agree with you, then you can say almost anything as long as you don’t offend them. However, if you’re writing to convince people to change their minds, you must be able to see the world from their point of view in order to reach them. You need to write for them, not for the already-converted.
What does your audience hold sacred?
We’re not just talking religion. Most people hold something sacred—something matters enough to them to completely, or nearly completely, impact their decision-making process. In order to change them, you have to show respect for that which is sacred to them. The way you approach your article will determine whether or not anyone can be changed by your words. If you say, “The people who don’t believe in global warming are all idiots,” your readers will dump you. Even if they finish reading the article, they will close their minds, and begin building a counter argument. You will be unable to reach them.
Suppose instead, you demonstrated appreciation for their views and then, in the course of the article you wrote, helped them add to it: “People who disapprove of birth control are often people who care deeply about family and want to raise many children. This is a wonderful quality, and our society needs people who value children. Let’s look at some ways birth control, just on occasion, might help them to meet the needs of the family they so completely treasure.”
Ahh, this time you’ve complimented them as being good people and recognized what might be good about them, even if you disagree with their stand on your topic. You didn’t ask them to completely abandon their feelings, only to make exceptions when it might benefit their families. In the previously mentioned global warming topic, you might suggest reasons for people to make the necessary changes even if they disagree with you on the reasons for doing so. You can even hint that global warming might be real by saying, “In _____, temperatures for the past five years have risen to new highs, causing penguins to _________. You haven’t said global warming is everywhere, only that it’s in that one place, and you’ve given them a reason to care by talking about penguins. You would then need to follow this up with specific, simple changes your readers can make to help save the penguins.
What does your audience need to do?
Articles written to change the world need a specific call to action. The easier you make the call, the more likely they are to follow it. Offer a choice of actions, and explain how choosing just one of them can make a difference. Most people will do one thing if they can do it easily. By the time that one thing becomes a habit, someone else will have suggested yet another change they are comfortable with. The more changes they make, the easier it is to completely win them over to your side in time.