On Being a Writer – Sharing a Passion
Kristyn Gansen
On Being a Writer – Sharing a Passion
Guest Writer: Krisytn Gansen
I was standing at the scene of an accident on the side of a major freeway in Flint, Mich., when I realized I was doing something wrong. While I waited for the police officer to come talk to me — the same one I’d met with earlier in the week at two other accident scenes — I realized that I simply did not want to be a news reporter anymore.
It wasn’t because I couldn’t separate myself from the accident scene to do my job, like so many reporters who realize they are on the wrong path. It was because I didn’t want to turn into one of the reporters on the other end of the spectrum: the ones who joke about death like it’s something funny, who get excited each time they hear a call for help come over the police scanner because this time, someone else’s misfortune might be their big shot at a Pulitzer-winning article.
It was during this time that I learned something about myself as a writer. I learned to only write about things I know; to only write about topics with which I’m comfortable. I learned my boundaries, I learned my limits and I learned which pieces I could stand behind and pieces I couldn’t.
Because here is the thing: when I was forced to cover topics I was uncomfortable writing about, when I was forced to step outside my boundaries, it showed through in my writing. I often missed important information because I simply didn’t know the right questions to ask, or my finished articles were choppy and didn’t read well because I didn’t know how to make the proper pieces fit together. I learned my comfort zone and my ethical boundaries, and standing alongside the freeway that day, I made a commitment to myself to write about topics I knew.
It’s the advice given to so many writers, new and old alike: write what you know. But at the same time, it’s advice that many find difficult to follow. Many people believe that great writers can cover any topic, because to be a great writer you have to be a great researcher. That may be true, and all the pertinent information may be included in the piece, but readers can tell the difference.
Readers also can tell when you let your passion spill over into your work. The result is a much better piece, a much better overall body of work and a much larger readership. To me, being a successful writer is not about money earned or prizes received. Being a successful writer means finding your passion and learning how to share that information and that passion with others. If you can find a way to do this, being a writer can be the most fulfilling career or hobby out there.
About Kristyn Gansen:
Kristyn left the print news world and stepped into the world on online writing in 2008. Kristyn’s passions lie in the worlds of sport, current events, heath/nutrition and law. Today, Kristyn takes on content-writing and ghostwriting projects, and writes about health and nutrition for Bukisa. She currently lives in Minnesota and spends much of her free time swimming, running and traveling with her husband.
Maintain it up, great position! Just the information I had to have.