Familiarity, a Valuable Asset to Writers
Demand is up as supply is down
Sure we have dress jeans for Sunday, but nothing beats the familiarity of the good old favorites.
Jeans' origins have been traced back to drawings on cave walls in the 1960s during the period when Donovan Leitch sang the lyrics “my jeans are so comfortably lovely.”
Comfort zones
We, as humans, tend to have comfort zones of things that are familiar.
A problem is things eventually wear out and must be replaced. Of course, that creates conflict. As we age, we find the doctor we went to for years and years is retiring, The insurance guy we have had for decades decides to hang it up and leave the business in the hands of a younger associate.
Policemen start looking younger and younger.
There are all perfectly natural progressions that are still not always easily accepted.
We hate robocalls and answer trees and the new, non-human communication methods.
In Nashville, where I live, I once heard an older denizen say, “I seen a hundred changes here in Nashville and I been agin ever one of ‘em!”
Most of us would jump through hoops to stay with something familiar to us.
A comfortable voice
I think that this tendency is a great ally for a writer. I think it is good for a writer to find his or her “voice.”
That find may come immediately, or it may take a lot of practice and reps at writing. But when it’s found, it will soon start to feel comfortable, not only to the writer but also to some of the readers.
When a reader starts to feel comfortable with a particular writer, they become familiar. A few readers will start to follow. Some may even subscribe.
As I continue to discover my voice, that familiar way I look at and describe life, I find other added benefits.
Primarily, there is less staring at a blank sheet of paper or computer screen, waiting for some foreign idea to materialize. That story is already there. It just needs editing.
Clean up the grammar and the spelling.
Be familiar
Change for the sake of change stinks. Get familiar. Stay familiar. If you write about technology, don't give me recipes. If you tell me about parenting, don't talk about stocks and bonds unless there is an obvious common ground. When you find solid ground, stay on solid ground. (Humor is the exception- anything can be mixed with humor.)
Find your direction and then proceed in that direction without zigzags.
Familiarity breeds followers and subscriptions.
Thanks for reading!
