How do I write work that is profound and resonates with people?
Posted on 08 January 2017
The first question you have to ask yourself is, are you profound? You are only going to achieve profundity if you are a deep and insightful person to begin with.
If you want to become profound then you have to be willing to do a lot of hard personal work.
Understand yourself
Be willing to take a good hard look at yourself warts and all. This is not about tearing yourself to pieces, just understanding. Recognise your genuine strengths, admit to your weaknesses. With compassion and a will to do better consider those times you failed yourself and failed others. This is where writing insight begins.
Experience empathy for others
Recognise the humanity of others. Realise they have reasons for why they do things that feel right to them, whether you agree with these actions or not. We all feel fear, and fear is a powerful motivator. To reach a profound level of empathy you have to be willing to feel your own emotions, even when they are painful. I know of people who have run away from the funeral of someone close, because they were afraid of feeling overwhelming grief. And yet that grief represents a lot of love. When you feel that grief, you can write about it honestly.
Actively care
If you walk your talk, your writing will resonate with people. Author JK Rowling worked for Amnesty International before writing the Harry Potter series. She knocked herself off the Forbes Billionaires list due to all her charity giving. Author Malala Yousafzai risked her life working to ensure girls had access to education. People respect that sort of consistency and are more inclined to believe you know what you are talking about when you are writing about profound subjects.
Now is an important time for people to think and to care more deeply. It’s admirable that you would want to write in such a way. Just start doing it and see where it takes you. You may find the insight, empathy, and care you need in the process.
Peace and kindness,
Katherine
2007 Rajeev Nair CC BY 2.0 Generic
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