Writing for Change Sometimes Means Preaching to the Choir

And that’s still okay

There’s an obvious issue with writing for social change. When you’re writing about social justice issues - in the types of publications that publish those types of articles - you’re often doing what we in the UK refer to as preaching to the converted, or as my US friends call it preaching to the choir.

Those attending the church are already believers. Those reading your work already have similar views. You’re not changing any minds here. But that’s actually okay,

What we’re doing, sometimes, is not so much changing minds as inspiring action. And action is most often taken by the choir. They’re the ones who, when presented with solutions, are most likely to actually do something. They’re the ones who will:

• Donate money

• Volunteer time

• Attend a protest

• Sign a petition

• Write a letter

• Lobby a politician

• Educate others

• Change their own behaviour

As change writers, we’re also often getting our (fairly similar) readers to think just a little bit differently. To understand the nuances, and perhaps rethink long-held beliefs that get in the way of them fully appreciating the problems of a vulnerable group or the action needed on a particular issue.

It’s easier to change the minds of those who think in a similar way to you rather than those who think completely differently.

Or as James Clear puts it:

“Years ago, Ben Casnocha mentioned an idea to me that I haven’t been able to shake: The people who are most likely to change our minds are the ones we agree with on 98 percent of topics.”

That’s why we need to preach to the choir, especially on little-known-about but important topics. And especially when there are solutions that simply require more awareness or mass action.

No big action step today. Just keep this in mind with your next writing piece.

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Some thoughts from others I’ve been enjoying this week

• How to be public as a writer (and feel safe in the process) by

  Dan Blank

• Secrets of a Successful First Chapter by

  Mary Carroll Moore

• If I Were To Start Over On Medium, Here's Exactly How I'd Do It by

  Hudson Rennie

• Freelance Writing For Beginners - Get Paid To Write With Elna Cain by

  Kristina God

• How I Got A Book Deal With The World’s Top Publisher Penguin: The Sexy Story [And The Unsexy One] by

  Veronica Llorca-Smith

What else I’ve been up to this week

Reading: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Watching: Rings of Power (on Amazon Prime)

Listening to: The Peace in a Pod podcast

This week’s Medium posts

(This has been a slow week on Medium for me. So here are a couple from the archives. Friend links, as always, so you can read for free.)

• Five Things to Weave Into Your Daily Life If You Want to Be Truly Happy

• New Skills To Learn That Actually Improve Your Brain - According to Science

That’s all for this week. If you’re reading this online and you’re not subscribed yet, feel free to subscribe to get future posts straight to your inbox.

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