Words: 352
Time to read: 2 minutes
Any style of writing, but especially persuasive writing, is truly conveying your innermost thought and putting yourself out there. There’s a great chance that what you wrote will be critiqued, misunderstood, or misapplied. That fear however cannot be the reason not to write. It’s that way in any domain of life. Writing comes from the heart and therefore is susceptible to causing more personal hurt when it’s not received the intended way.
But that’s life.
Don’t write because of how someone may or may not receive what you’ve written. Don’t write for the critics. Don’t write for the review. Write because it is important enough to impel you to write. So write it. The discipline of writing is to help organize your thoughts, to help solidify your views, and express your heart in a way that perhaps no other medium can afford. I speak a lot by virtue of my calling, a pastor. I am constantly conversing with people. I know that God blesses the preaching of His Word. I have no doubt about this. I also know that many times an idea can be muddy when expressed from the pulpit. It shouldn’t be, but they can be mainly because I do not express the ideas and truths as I should.
Writing certainly can be muddy, however, it allows the reader to read and reread the thought. Mull it over. Ruminate on it. For this, we need to be readers, and careful readers at that.
Even with careful reading, you will be misunderstood. Especially in today’s world since care and reading are two rare commodities, much to our own detriment.
It was Nietzsche who said, “Good writers have two things in common: they prefer to be understood rather than admired, and they do not write for knowing and over-acute readers.” I would not argue with that and would only add that whatever your motivation for writing, just keep at it. Even if no one else gleans anything from your writing, you will likely come out of it a better writer (maybe) and a better organized, more thoughtful, and more articulate person (hopefully).