I Don’t Want to Write Articles That People Want to Read
By: Daniel Demarco
Tags: Philosophy, Life, Writing, Writing Tips

Yet another article purporting to give you the secret for success in writing on Medium or other social platforms recently caught my eye (linked below).

In the piece the author states “…when you share ideas on a social platform, your goal ought to be to write articles people actually want to read.” He continues by saying “….One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when publishing content online is ignoring, or significantly under-attending to, the needs and wants of their audiences.”

As much as I appreciate someone caring about me online. I don’t need or want anyone trying to pretend that they know what I want to read or “attending to my needs.” I most definitely do not want to be thought of as anyone’s “audience.” Therefore I take a diametrically opposed position and most often write with the intention of offending or otherwise irritating or making uncomfortable my “audience” whom I think of as the collection of individuals who would probably be annoyed or confused by whatever it is I happen to be writing about. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is believing they have an audience and then trying to write in a fashion which will make this fictional audience happy or feel superior in their beliefs about a particular position they may take. Worrying about if you are writing something “people actually want to read” is a fast track to irrelevance. Below are a few hard facts that any aspiring writer ought to take to heart.

You do not have an audience because there is no such thing

There is a collection of individuals, each unique in their own way, each with their own set of goals, desires, passions, and beliefs. Imagining there is an audience and then trying to write something directed toward this fictional group is a fast track to irrelevance (as I stated only a few sentences prior). Repeating yourself in order to draw attention is a good way to emphasize an important point. Repeating yourself because you forgot that you already said the same thing a few sentences earlier is a good way to emphasize your looming senility.

Nobody can tell you how to write or what to write about

Sorry, they can’t. Nobody can. Is this fact depressing to you? Don’t be a writer. Which brings me to..

Don’t try to be a writer

You are not a writer, you are a person who happens to write. Much like an audience, a writer is a fictional entity. He or she is a concept which no longer exists, if it ever did. Even there is such a thing, you are not one. Trying to be something which isn’t real is stupid. Don’t try. Just write, or write not. Fucking Yoda again. Why does that line or some variant of it always come up? If I were a writer I might be able to explain in words. Since I am not I can’t. Did that make any sense to you? If not, don’t try be a writer. Even if it did make sense don’t try to be a writer. Just write.

Worrying about what people want to read is a complete and total waste of your time

The people will read what the people want to read. You worrying about it is nothing but a distraction from what should be your main objective, writing. Putting words down on page in printed form on paper or online. The words can be anything you want. They can be nonsense. Lick, toad, alabaster. They can be wrongly grammatical. They can be whatever you want them to be. Will other people want to read those words? Almost certainly in the vast, vast, vast majority of cases they will not. Case in point, this very article. I have little doubt that 99% of the people who took the time to click on it (surely a very small number) clicked away after the first three sentences. To the remaining 1% who stuck with it this far I say congratulations Tim. Thanks again for being my #1 fan, and my one fan. How’s little Timmy junior doing these days? Tell the Timster I said hi.

Worrying about what people want to read is also a waste of my time

How could you worrying about what people want to read possibly be a waste of my time? you might be asking yourself, though probably not. I will answer the question anyway. It is really quite simple and should be self evident. The answer is the very words you are currently reading. You see, you worrying about what I want to read, makes me worry about what I should want to read. Therefore, if what I actually want to read is different from what you think I should want to read I will feel guilty for reading the wrong things. My guilt about wanting to read the wrong things from what you think I should want to read will make me stop reading the things I want to read and spend time trying to read things you want me to read instead. This will be a huge waste of my time because I really do not want to read what you want me to read but am only reading them out of guilt. Stop wasting my time please. Stop worrying about what people want to read.

Uncomfortable yet? Confused perhaps? Me too. My task here is complete.