Writing Content

The problem I am facing is something maybe each one of you has had as well.

What type of content should I write?

The ideas and the writing come naturally to me. I am flush with thoughts that scream for attention. It flows like running water. A faucet that I have trained myself to turn on and off at any given moment.

My hang-up is whether I am writing for myself or my reader. I try not to come from a place of arrogance. What I mean by that is this. Do I write what I want you to read, or do you read what you want me to write?

It is an age-old question that I think most of us have dealt with at some point in our writing journey. Do we follow the herd and niche ourselves to oblivion, or do we write even if it’s for an audience of one?

Too many times we are bombarded by different approaches that have worked for some and not for others. We reevaluate our methods and techniques on every blank Word document or page.

And hope that what we can create will be enough for both you and me.

It’s a cycle of pain and purpose. Do we embody what we are as writers and create the possible empty void of the internet, or do we forgo our loyalty and give the audience what they want?

This seems to be a constant theme of debate on several writing platforms. Who is right? Who should we follow to the promised land?

And to get there, figure out where and what you the reader want. And that is something that I struggle with.

Like many of you, I follow prolific writers and gurus of the written word. Who, from all accounts on their social platforms, have hundreds of thousands of followers who subscribe to their train of thought.

Recently I came across a very popular podcaster who shared the wisdom of Morgan Housel.

The New York Times best-selling author of “The Psychology of Money” and “Same as Ever”.

The story goes that when Housel was starting in finance, he wrote hundreds of letters to his clients. He later learned that most, if not all of his correspondence were never read. Yet this didn’t stop him from writing.

This taught him a valuable lesson not only in finance but in writing as well.

He realized that there were only three types of content that people would read.

“You can give people information; you can give them opinion; or you can try to change the way they think.” -Morgan Housel.

What that translates to is simple.

Information is highly sought after. This creates a market that is not only competitive but pushes the content forward at neck-breaking speeds. In the digital age, people want answers to their questions immediately.

Opinions are easier. Everyone has them.

Unfortunately, when we offer too much, we tend to tell people exactly what they want to hear. Especially in a niche market where the same thing is being repeated over and over again.

Lastly, content that changes the way we think.

There is power in that thought process. Writing content to change the reader's perception of the world has a lasting effect. This type of work has staying power.

It pushes the reader out of their comfort zone. It makes them see things differently.

Even more questions now than answers.

I must confess. I never had a single thought about it until I started writing with more purpose. I have been a dog chasing his tail. Except when I see a car drive by, and then it’s back to the chase.

Purpose-driven content is fine and all, but to an ever-growing audience that is looking for a way to hack the system, it feels like its only justification is for light after-dinner conversation.

Guilty as charged for sharing my opinions on matters that I hold no experience in. And when it comes to writing about information to solve a question or problem, I am lacking in that competitive field.

I would like to believe that what I write holds some measure of truth that the reader can walk away with and think independently because of my prose.

So full circle. What type of content should we all be writing?

As I am writing this, the only conclusion I have come to is to write what you feel is right. I am not wise enough to understand the complexities of viral content based on data analytics. And nor do I want to.

I write because it’s the only thing that makes sense to me. If by some miracle the gods of ink bless me with a goblet of gold for participating, then I will accept.

Until then, I will continue to write words that may never come across your page.

I guess I answered my question. I just needed to write.