Why Writing Matters in Our Society

  • Sao Phal Niseiy
  • October 4, 2020 6:51 AM

I am neither a good nor a famous writer, but I am confident that I am in a position to share with you this experience on why writing matters for us and our society. As a journalist, I develop writing skills through practicing it out of passion, eagerness and curiosity.



This career has taught me why writing really matters to everyone, is in the fabric of every society, and how significant it can be when most, if not all, can express their voice through writing.



For me, writing is a lifelong investment or maybe a journey that is full of self-fulfillment. And I unequivocally do it for three essential reasons. One is to communicate. As a journalist, I regard writing as the most powerful weapon to help shape a society we live in, and tantamount to the value the late South African President Nelson Mandela upheld on “Education.”



My strongest intent in pursuing writing is to effectively communicate a truth, to present perspectives and to uncover something that can positively shape public opinion and benefit the general public. Writing does matter even more in a society like ours as it obviously lacks open and candid exchange of ideas due to a concept of “resistance to different views and opinions” having been firmly entrenched. Therefore, through writing I believe more open and healthier debates on diverse issues that matter to everyone’s daily life can be someday propelled.



Reasons for writing are to share facts and analysis if one writes a news article; one’s thoughts and conclusions if writing an opinion piece such as this one for the general public; one’s ideas and beliefs when writing a social-media message to be shared with friends — the like-minded ones who can be labelled die-hard fans  and always are right there to receive whatever message you wish share.

If you seek actual readers, those social-media ones are more than enough as encouragement a writer needs: They are literally a blessing. Thus, stop perceiving that writing doesn’t matter: Your fans on social media are there waiting for you to share your thoughts.



Writing is a means to express ourselves. It can be anything from grief to joy, and personal experiences that matter. You can put down words, and they can also help people learn, understand and also heal.



Expressing our opinions through writing also helps shape our minds and be open to criticism. It is not unusual to receive unkind comments from readers who are strangers to us. Undeniably, some readers make judgments without really reading and completely apprehending the idea we writers try to communicate.

But it is what it is. No pain no gain. No writer can get better without being open to criticism. No matter how good a writer you are or comprehensive your writing is, people still have their say, which may be contradicting your views.



The hard truth is that we obviously can’t force those having divergent points of views to completely concur with what we articulate. Still, if their comments are healthy feedback, why not take them into consideration.

Perhaps our works are not good yet so that those feedbacks can serve as a means to keep us enhancing our skills. By remaining open, what we can do as a writer is acknowledging that nothing is all the time satisfactory, and that learning to be thick-skinned is the right choice in this field.



But dealing with people’s reactions is not always easy. In spite of these important reasons, I have noticed that some people get less inspired to keep writing because there are not many people reading, liking or sharing their pieces of writing— some of which they may have spent days or even weeks completing and some other, they think, that could have far-reaching ramifications. They feel they deserve better. It is justifiable to think that way, but that’s not always the right approach.

Frankly, I too want people to read and share my writing among their networks if they wish. It is because people naturally want more likes, views or, if I can put another way, recognition or praise. But they may need to think again whether this is really a proper purpose of why they write. Of course not. It took me a long while to reflect on such issue and adjust to this, and other new writers should consider this, too.



All in all, what I really want to emphasize is that no one was born with a prodigious writing ability. Writing is a hard-earned skill; it is tough. It requires your determination, passion and consistency. And there definitely is no magic trick or shortcut to being a better writer, as Stephen King mentioned in his book “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.”

The only way, I believe, that will help keep on polishing and igniting our passion about writing is dedicating time to more reading and writing. And I am positive that anyone can be a writer these days if they believe they are.



People may challenge this but don’t get me wrong. When I say everyone can be a writer, I don’t allude to the famous writers who earn not only fame but also large sums of money. The difference is that they often have struggled a lot and writing has been their bread and butter.

Literally, I refer to each individual because he or she has at least one story to share even if their career does not involve writing at all: a story that can be about their lives, their experiences, their expertise or observations or even diaries. To give an example: You can be a bank teller or a designer by profession and in the meantime pursue a novel writing routine.



All you have to do is write, and keep on writing.  


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