The Two Laws Of Writing

Everything is governed by laws. Laws that make things easier for you. Without the laws of physics we wouldn’t have advanced so far in science. Likewise learning the laws that govern your mind allows you to build the life of your dreams. Learning the laws of your body allows you to have the health and fitness that you desire. Following laws allow you to bypass the trial and error method of learning. An workable but ineffective method of learning to say the least. The point is learning the laws of how things function allow you to progress in that respective field much quicker. Writing is no different.

Everyone has to write at some point in their life. Writing effectively is key to many forms of communication. Whether you are a blogger trying to make a name for yourself, a writer who wants to write bestsellers, a student wanting to get a good grade on a test, or a copywriter trying to make money through a product writing makes up a essential part of your skill set. Though the modality through which we communicate will change from chisel and stone to paper and pen to finger and electronic device to whatever the future may hold, reading the written word will still be an essential part of communication between man.

Reading unlike talking and body language has the power to transcend time and space. We can reads the words of men long passed. They can inspire, frighten, and change us. There is something unique in the power of writing. Something timeless and ethereal. Imagine your words written changing the lives of man generations after your death. Reaching out from the grave to inspire and help others. What we write becomes part of something greater than ourselves. I digress after all this article is about how to write well.

The First Law of Writing – Give Value

People read what you write because you fulfill a need within them. Human needs are diverse things. Some read for entertainment as after working all day they need a break, others read to be enlightened their mind constantly seeks to expand itself, and some read to solve a particular issue. Perhaps they want to have better relations with women or want to make enough money to break free from their soul sucking job. My point is your writing must fulfill a need of some kind. It must give value to the person reading it. It must make them addicted by improving their life by so much.

So while you don’t necessarily have to write how to articles every time understand that your reader needs to gain of benefit of reading. For example some people read humorous blogs because it entertains them that’s the value that they find in it. Likewise fantasy and romance novels provide an escape for people and expand their imagination (and turns them on in the case of the latter) that is the value that people find in them. So you can write about just about whatever you want, granted that people are finding value in it in some way, shape, or form. Common forms of value are information/knowledge, entertainment, or escape. Fill one of those three (or even better all three) and you can be pretty sure that you are providing your readers with value.

The Second Law of Writing – Tell Stories

Humans learn best through stories. That is why we have parables dating from ancient Egypt to the modern world. Humans are storytelling animals and learn best when are entertained and can relate to what is being told. Far from being just for children fables and parables have been used to illustrate the most complex of topics so that even the simplest can understand them. People want to hear stories, they enjoy hearing stories. When I first heard about telling stories it sounded like a overly simplistic answer to a complex question, but sometimes (as in this case) the most simplistic answer is the most accurate.

We probably can all remember the morals and lessons that we learned from stories we were told as a kid. Whether it was a bedtime story about a far away land, an animated movie, or one of the famous fables we learned from it. We learned from it even when we didn’t even realize it. Sort of like you can learn about science while doing a fun experiment and not even realize you’re learning. That is what stories do to the human mind. Stories help us remember things on a deep subconscious level. Deeper than simply memorizing words on a page. Stories engage and captivate us.

Follow The Two Laws

Follow the two laws of writing and you’re writing will improve. You will write things that will stand the test of time. Every time you set your fingers to the keyboard or your pen to the paper your influence will grow because people will want to hear what it is that you have to say. They will eagerly tune it to your writing to soak up the value while being engaged by your storytelling as well. Like a village elder sitting around the campfire, the entire village from the king, to the greatest warriors, to the rowdiest children, to the most gossip prone of women they will sit in silence and listen. Bewitched by the wisdom that you spread. Follow the laws and you will be rewarded, follow the laws and you will be able to go places you never thought possible.

If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.

-Charles Sledge

Charles Sledge