Write for your readers
Published • 13 Aug 2009Jeffrey Zeldman just published a brief article on writing that is well worth a read. Although its prime focus is doing it well by realising that you write best whilst inspired, ensuring you give yourself apt breaks — “write when inspired; rest when tired” is his mnemonic — I particularly took a liking to his second last closing paragraph:
Never mind the bollocks. You are not writing for Amazon, or to fit a staff proofreader’s vacation schedule, as important and real as those considerations may be. You are writing for readers, a duty as sacred, in its way, as parenting. If you don’t believe the previous sentence, if you think writing is mainly about getting paid, I’m sorry you wasted your time reading this page, and I hope you find another way to earn a living soon. The world is already choking on half-considered, squeezed-out shit. There’s no need to add to the pile.
Perfectly sums up my feelings on the matter.