ferocious and compelling
'One of our fiercest and most compelling writers'
So said the Sunday Times of Dave Eggers, author of novels, starter of world-changing projects.
What Mr Eggers writes or doesn’t isn’t important here. What struck me as important is that people who write compelling stories change things.
It’s as true for novels as it is internal company memos. Paul Graham of Y Combinator fame wrote about the Writes and Write-Nots. Those who write — the Writes — will be the only thinkers left standing when AI has turned everyone else into Write-Notes.
Mr Graham suggests that there will be a divide between the writers and thinkers and the non-writers and non-thinkers. Because “writing is thinking” and the ones who think most clearly will… well, I don’t know what. Win something?
Yes. They will win something. In business, the prize will be growth and influence. Which finally brings me to the title of this note: ferocious and compelling
Clear writing is a talent and skill that can be built up, refined. I think there needs to be more to writing than clear thinking. I think there has to be strong opinions and moving stories.
Business writers should not be afraid of their own opinions. We should be ferocious in stating what we believe.
We must also learn to tell compelling stories to an audience of people eager to listen and come along the journey. As AI generates more and more of the content our customers see every day, the writers among us who choose to voice strong opinions and tell vivid stories will win more business.
After taking a few weeks off to chase kids and reflect on the direction of our business, this keeps coming back to mind. We have to tell the right stories in interesting ways. To do that, we have to write in ways that aren’t as predictable as AI-generated pablum.
But we can’t just be wild for the sake of being the opposite of AI. There must be structure and intent and fierce clarity.
What’s your opinion on your market? What should your customers know but don’t? Can you stand out from the noise with a strong voice and a compelling story?
If more of us take this writing thing more seriously, this is going to get fun.
Peter
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