This guest post from author Ceidrik Heward gives you some great insights to your power as a writer, and how you need to wield that power.
You get up early so you can race to your computer and start tapping the keyboard to create more wonderful stories for eager readers around the world to enjoy. When people ask you what you do for a living, you puff your chest out and widen your eyes and reply,
“I’m a writer!”
Why do you want to be a writer? When I was first asked this question, I had to think for a moment. To be rich and famous would be nice but in reality, there are many reasons for a person to face an empty page every day and fill it with words that have something worthwhile to say.
I’m convinced a good writer needs to have a deep desire to write. For me, the first and most important thing to do is to ENTERTAIN the reader. Then I’d say the next important thing is to INFORM the reader.
Since the earliest times, stories were presented verbally. With the advent of printing and the written word, readers were held captive between the pages of books. Cinema came along and stories were told with moving images on a screen but they always had to entertain to keep an audience involved.
However, there has to be more than pure entertainment. There has to be something in it for the reader, your words need to teach the reader something about the world and by extension, about themselves. If they can leave your story enriched in some way, then you are a good writer. If they look at life in a different way as a result of your words, then you are a good writer. If your story has a positive impact on their attitude and outlook, then you are a good writer.
If you have moved them EMOTIONALLY, then you are a very good writer.
If your motive in being a writer is to show off, to lecture or to rant on about a pet gripe, I suggest your writing future is a limited one. You need to put yourself in the shoes of your target reader. Why would they want to read your material? What makes you qualified to write the material in the first place? You need to consider these questions before sitting at your computer.
The world is drowning in words. To be a shining beacon in this sea of words, you need to entertain and inform in a way that inspires and most importantly, that touches the emotions of your readers. When you do this, you have communicated with them in the deepest way possible. That is, in my opinion, not only a goal to aspire to but also the responsibility of a good writer.
Ceidrik Heward’s material has been published in magazines, books, and newspapers in 7 countries Four of his children’s stories were adapted for TV and screened on Foxtel in Australia. He was commissioned to write a screenplay for the Shanghai Film Corporation and developed another one with ImageNation in Abu Dhabi. He has just self published his 23rd book. You can see his Amazon author page here.