The Power of Words

Your influence as a writer might be bigger than you think

Merry Christmas, Writers!

It’s Kelly Eden here, from Medium. My family and I are celebrating with our special “Christmas Eve” dinner tonight. It’s a bit early but with blended families, extended family, and all the Christmas craziness we decided to just relax and enjoy our special family time before the rush starts.

Christmas always makes me think about the gifts we put out into the world, and as writers we have a powerful gift to give.

“The very first line stops me in my tracks and brings tears to my eyes and I don’t know why except that this one line speaks to me as nothing else ever has.” Excerpt from Matched by Ally Condie

This has happened to me a number of times this year. I’ve been moved to tears by personal stories, and stopped in my tracks, encouraged, inspired, and had my mood lightened by others.

These weren’t famous writers. Some of the stories that touched me the most were by brand new writers. Even if you impact just one person, you’ve done something great.

One of the stories that moved me is by a new Medium writer I was working with this week. Ian Smith is not new to writing but in his first essay on Medium he shares his personal experience with anxiety. Having experienced anxiety on and off many times in my life I found his story very moving.

If you know anyone who this may encourage, feel free to share it. Ian talks about some raw and important things in his story that definitely will impact people.

How I Beat Anxiety For Good With One Simple Thought (Medium members)

How I Beat Anxiety For Good With One Simple Thought (non-members)

Are we the media?

Does that power though come with responsibility. What responsibility do we have as writers? I got called “the media” a few weeks ago and it got me thinking. If we are the media, what can we do about the negative things we see in the media—the way the truth is twisted, the way minorities are represented (or not), the way we use language when we talk about people.

I wrote a story on this that you can read here. It also has some resources for sourcing more diverse free stock images. Are We the Media? Then Maybe We Have the Power to Change It (Medium members)

Are We the Media? Then Maybe We Have the Power to Change It (non-members)

Fill your Toolbox—writing skills

Conversational writing is the most popular style for magazines, websites, and marketing. I’ve put together some tips on how to make your writing more conversational here.

Make Your Writing More Conversational to Connect Better with Your Readers (Medium Members)

Make Your Writing More Conversational to Connect Better with Your Readers (non-members)

Have a great Christmas Season!