V=Variety
Wow, we’re up to V=Variety already in the CREATIVE HABITS series! I don’t know about you but I’ve really been enjoying it – and they’re my articles…
Having eclectic tastes simply means being fascinated by and enjoying variety. Writers who enjoy a wide variety of interests will be able to write to reach wider audiences and will have the knowledge to make their work believable.
It’s said variety is the spice of life, and a writer who has a broad range of interests will never get bored by what they write. More importantly, neither will your audience be bored with your writing. What d
oes this mean?
- You never know when the unusual hobby you have will lead to a story. Writers who have a variety of life experiences can share more readily with their audiences. Your writing will have greater appeal, because of the variety of information included.
- Trivial facts can add spice and variety to any style of writing. Reading and researching on a variety of topics will help a writer to learn interesting facts to engage the reader of their work.
- Writers who have eclectic tastes will find research easier, because they will become fascinated by at least one aspect of any particular topic. A good writer is curious about the world around them and wants to learn more. They then use this experience in their writing.
- People with a very narrow range of interests rarely make good dinner conversationalists and, unless they meet someone else who shares their specific interest, are likely to bore the company. Just as people with a wide variety of interests are popular invitees to dinner parties, writers who have a wide variety of interests are popular with their audiences. A writer certainly will not be successful, if they gain a reputation for being boring.
- Journalists have been described as endlessly curious, jacks of all trades and masters of none. This means that they love to know a little bit about anyone they meet, the trade and occupation they hold and to share the experiences of their interviewees. They are not a master of any trade, except perhaps the one of writing, because they do not experience any trade long enough to become a master of that trade. However, these eclectic tastes, mean journalists can feel comfortable in interviewing a variety of people and writing about many different topics in one day, week or month.
- Any style of writer should encourage eclectic tastes in themselves and aim to experience many different things in a lifetime. This means that their writing will speak to more people and be able to relate to people with different experiences easier.
- Writers do not generally write for an audience of one (unless of course it’s a journal). This means that the audience of the work is going to be made up of many different individuals. Your writing should speak to every one of those individuals, in some way.
- Encouraging variety in your own interests means you will be more likely to write in a way that reaches individuals with those interests too. The more you are interested in yourself, the more enjoyable people will find your writing to read.
- Writers should have a variety of different friends, including those who are both older and younger than themselves, so that they have more understanding of the wider community and can relate their writing to the broadest possible audience.
Encouraging eclectic tastes, researching and writing about a variety of topics helps the writer to reach broader audiences, keep an interest in their work and their writing and to relate to the individuals who read their work.
