What to Write
People sometimes ask me how I come up with things to write. To me, it’s the same as asking how I come up with things to say. There’s always something to say. It might not be novel or interesting to most, but it’s important to me and hopefully to someone else.
What people actually want to know is how to come up with something interesting to write. But why should that matter? What if people don’t find it interesting? Was it a waste of time?
Why Write?
There’s this funny thing which happens when you write for a while: you forget what excited you about writing in the first place. Instead, you find yourself chasing trends, trying to get more views, and build a following. Even if you’re aware that this is happening, it’s hard to stop. Your inner monologue tells you that what you’re writing isn’t good enough or that your readers won’t like it.
Writing becomes a chore.
Eventually, you stop writing.
Somewhat tautologically, people come here exactly for one reason: to read what I write. If I make it about them, I have to guess what they want to hear, which kills the joy in writing, and also, in reading, as the content becomes predictable.
Interesting Doesn’t Mean Novel.
Just because someone else wrote about the same topic doesn’t mean it’s off-limits. There are a million love songs to disprove that. As it turns out, while they all revolve around the same topic, they’re all unique. They are personal, which is what makes them different.
Some of these songs I like because I can relate to them. To me, that’s what makes them interesting: it’s the same story but told in a different way – a personal way. And that personal makes it new and that new makes it interesting.
If You Take Away the Personal, You Take Away the Interesting
Writing is a lot like that. I get to learn about how other people feel and how they think. It’s mostly an experience; shaped into words.
It’s beautiful to think how writing is such a simple way to learn from the experiences of others. And how, with just a few words, you can emotionally connect with a stranger. It’s a very human experience.
Often, what you leave out is more important than what you keep; the reader fills in the blanks. Eventually, a story starts a life of its own; when it gets shared; when it gets retold. It’s no longer the author’s story but the reader’s. It becomes part of lore. Who wrote it isn’t that important.
I can’t tell who reads this and why should I care? Instead of trying to make other people enjoy my writing, I want to connect with people who like the same topics. Big difference.
Knowing That Is Liberating
It gives me confidence that I will never run out of things to write. At least not as long as I remember why I write.
It’s liberating because I don’t have to chase the new. Instead, whatever it turns out to be is enough. At times, I’m as clueless as the reader to see where this leads me. Maybe someone else will find joy in it, maybe not.
It doesn’t matter.
What matters is what you think matters, and that’s what you should write about.
Thanks for reading! I mostly write about Rust and my (open-source) projects. If you would like to receive future posts automatically, you can subscribe via RSS.