Step one: What's your goal?
Before you set pen to paper, or put your fingers on the keyboard, ask yourself: Do I have a clear idea of my goal for what I’m about to write?
A couple of days ago, I bought a copy of There’s No Such Thing as Public Speaking, by Jeannette and Roy Henderson. Yes, it’s about speaking, but many of the ideas cross over into the world of writing as well.
At the very beginning, the authors say that Newton’s Third Law of Motion—”For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”—can be applied to human interaction, albeit not as mathematically.
Whenever we give, we expect someone to take; whenever we teach, we expect someone to learn; and whenever we speak, we expect someone to listen.
Because of this Cause and Effect relationship, we must never view a listener as passive or uninvolved just because they are “simply” listening. The listener is active. The listener is responsive. The listener will react to whatever stimuli we choose to use.
(Substitute reader for listener in the above paragraphs, and you’ll see why I think we writers have something to learn here.)
Because the principle of Cause and Effect influences every human interaction, the Hendersons tell us that by choosing and controlling our actions, we can have a greater influence over the reactions that our listeners (or readers) have.
Our first obligation, then—as speakers or as writers—is to be sure we know what Effect we want bring about.
Why are you writing what you’re writing?
Roy Jacobsen
in Growing as a writer
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