‘Comfort-Zone’ Trap For Writers
Never settle in just one specific niche
I wonder, why should a writer need one specific niche in the first place? And what will happen if he/she doesn’t find one? As a writer, I don’t believe you should restrict yourself to one specific topic.
Finding a niche and then only write about that particular thing may help you be an expert on that, or in other words, earn more money. But it sucks away all the excitement from writing.
I call it a comfort-zone trap for writers.
A writer must wear many hats
Different topics are like different windows. When you peep through each of the windows, new things unravel in front of you. You see life from different angles, and it enhances and expands your understanding of life.
You may say that writing on different topics instead of having one specific niche is not good for online platforms to make money. If that is the case, I will request you not to think of money as one of your writing motivations.
You write because you have something to say — because your inner discomfort forces you to do so. You experience the eternal loneliness that every writer feels. You write to express, inform, and be informed. And you try to understand your position with respect to this vast universe.
You write because — every time you do so — you fall in love with the process of creating something. You love the words, thoughts, and the music of it. You feel happy when you are done writing a story or an article.
A good writer is always a curious mind who explores new windows, wears new hats, and sees how it feels. Of course, writers may have a favorite one — but they challenge themselves, question themselves, and never satisfy where they stand.
A good writer knows satisfaction kills creativity. That is why when she feels very comfortable and satisfied with one topic, she dares to open a new window and explore an unseen and unknown territory. She stumbles and sometimes bleeds. Thus she improves.
She tries new writing styles, new sentence structures, new themes and sees things from different angles to understand herself and the world she is living in.
A good writer experiments a lot. She always breaks her comfort zones and steps into a new land with curiosity and hope.
She never sacrifices her curiosity for the sake of cheap-praise from her readers. She makes her readers think and dare break their comfort zones of reading as well.
Otherwise, what’s the point of writing!
Don’t be a boring writer with just one niche
When you stop considering your writings as products and start valuing them as art — the improvement begins. Don’t fall into the trap of a so-called niche. It limits your progress as a writer.
Writers are not doctors or engineers. They don’t necessarily need to be an expert on a particular topic. Rather, be an expert on writing itself.
See the great writers like Maxim Gorky, Tolstoy, Rabindranath Tagore, Shakespeare, and the writers who will continue to be praised among generations after generations. They explored a lot, experimented a lot.
Writers need to explore different windows of writing. It will help them see life as a whole. But if you focus only on a particular window all the time, no doubt you will miss the total experience.
Expand your writing horizon
When you are comfortable with a topic. It’s great. Now try a different one. Maybe you are good with political writing — why not try writing satire or a few poems for a change? Why not write about the environmental issues, or speak for the rights of the deprived people?
Write something that challenges your ability as a writer. Write something that challenges you as a person. Write something that you didn’t know before.
Write about the topics that give you a chance to wear so many new hats and enjoy the gentle breeze on unknown beaches.
It may feel strange and tough to write about what you don’t know. But isn’t it always the case for growth? When you say goodbye to your comfort zone and start exploring a field you don’t know, it opens up in front of you with beauty and wonders.
Thank you for reading.
If you want to read more of my writings, you may read the following articles on Medium from the following links.
- How to Write What You Don’t Know
- Apply the Pomodoro Technique to Writing
- Your Tiresome Quest for Amazing Copyright and Royalty-Free Images Is Over
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