You Do Not Have to Choose a Niche to Be a Good Writer
By: Rita Alexandra
Tags: Writing Life, Opinion, Writing, Writing Tips, Advice and Opinion

You Do Not Have to Choose a Niche to Be a Good Writer

Just write your mind.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Why does it seem such a problem for some when one writer creates different types of content?

Ever since I was young, the idea of having preferences on music, literature, sports, etc., seemed more like an obligation than a choice.

“People define their likes at the age of 14.” — Some unknown source cited.

Well, *Earl*, I like a little bit of everything. I don’t have a favorite artist, musician or author. I simply like the art, the song or the book itself; and it can be any genre. So, what does that make me? A rebellious teen? An outsider? Did I come from Jupiter? (There’s already a lot of Martians out there.)

When searching for the formula to be successful on Medium (like it exists), the advice of choosing a niche would come up a lot. This is not the first time I have been advised to choose and follow a path in writing.

I won’t lie: having a specialization might help you build a loyal audience.

But.

A) You’ll end up finding yourself in a comfortable position that will be hard to get out of.

B) Once you get out and write about something else than what your readers expect, the audience that you worked so hard to form will slowly start to vanish.

Writing about something other than my “niche” makes me anxious

I started freelancing four years ago, but I would only apply to creative writing jobs about romance. I did not think I was good at anything else other than writing romance. That is what I wrote about on a daily basis. When I was offered jobs outside my comfort zone I would not think twice before rejecting it.

In my mind, my specialty was romance. Because that was my niche, I would consider myself an expert on it. But only it. Just the thought of writing about anything else would make nervous. When trying to put the words together to create another kind of content, I would paralyze.

To this day, I still overthink when posting content that my readers are not used to see from me. I usually write about mental health and I feel they trust my articles better when that’s the matter.

Having a niche could be an inhibition

I have put off creating a blog because of this mindset.

For a long time, I was looking for my specialty. I am good at writing romance, so that is all I would write about.

But then, I started writing about mental health and even though, I am not an expert, I was good at making people feel better by sharing my stories, and I got stuck in it.

With time, I came to realize that I am good at writing about politics, or relationships or even about football.

I should be able to speak my mind without fearing people’s reaction to my content, just because it is not what they thought it was my niche.

I should be able to still sound professional even though I usually do not write about a certain subject.

The quality of my content should not be measured based on whether it is inside my area of specialty or not.

Allow yourself to explore your own thoughts

In today’s world, the notion that you have to be objective with what you want to do, especially at such a young age, obstructs the wonders that come with exploring your mind.

We lose so much because we fear what society will say if we are a lawyer and a dancer at the same time.

We should be able to explore ourselves further. For own happiness, our own well-being.

Let’s write about what we want. Write about what makes us feel good. Write about what goes through our mind.

Maybe I’m ignoring good advice. But that only helps me realize that I am writing for myself first, and then for others…