On Writing #8: Jefferson has beliefs, Burr has none.
How to get more allies 😋
It is nice to be well-liked as a writer. And no I don’t think it’s because we’re a bunch of attention seekers. As writers, we often feel the urge to introduce a perspective that we believe will somewhat shape the world. But having few people supporting our ideas makes that mission impossible.
Therefore, it’s comforting to a lot of allies.
I’ve been scrolling through different articles suggesting ways to do so. Invest in SEO. Write trendy topics. Analyze the algorithm. I understand why those methods exist. But I doubt they’re the best way, due to their lack of substance.
At its core, the fundamental way of getting loyal supporters is to have a firm belief - a lesson I learned from Hamilton the Musical.
Jefferson has beliefs, Burr has none.
Long story short,
Thomas Jefferson, Vice President of the United States at the time, was running for the President of his country, alongside Aaron Burr, a 6-year Senator.
The votes for Jefferson and Burr had been a tie.
The public was struggling with who to choose.
Jefferson had a lot of opinions to make.
Burr charmed people with his smiles.
The people started to look at Alexander Hamilton, whose role was similar to a KOL’s in the modern day, for advice.
The Americans: “Who should we choose, Hamilton?”
The KOL answered: “I’ve never agreed with Jefferson once. But… Jefferson has beliefs. Burr has none.”
And with that, Thomas Jefferson became the third President of the United States.
Writers, do you have beliefs?
I didn’t.
Writing with one belief seemed like writing against others. I didn’t want to go against anyone. Because I wanted to respect everyone. And hence, I wrote very indisputable pieces.
The formula for these indisputable pieces is easy.
Throw in information. For example: “Welcome to our blog on paperclip manufacturing techniques” (by ChatGPT).
Or we find one idea that lots of people (especially the gurus) have been talking about and agreeing with. For example, in recent years we’ve been very familiar with the concept of “embracing little things in life”. So I wrote this media content for Từ Từ House:
Indisputable pieces make people happy. Therefore, I am free from the anxiety of being disliked. Like Aaron Burr, I was getting myself to: “Talk less. Smile more”. Burr charmed people with his courtesy. And the public found him approachable. But in the end, it was Jefferson they rooted for. Burr got the interest but lost the support.
And this struck me.
What if I became Burr?
What if I only appeared to be cute, like how girls should behave?
What if my ideas become so agreeable that no one bothers to add in their thoughts?
What if my writing brought only nods and laughter, but not anchored support?
Turns out, our courtesy can backfire. Because:
If you only write about the ideas the general public likes, who among them would sit, ponder, and STAY?
Leave your Courtesy at the door 🩰
My favorite writing pieces are those that demonstrate a very resilient commitment to an idea/belief. And of course, I find them all debatable (sometimes by me, sometimes by the public).
1/ Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (book)
Her bold belief:
Treat an idea like an entity. It will come knocking at your door. Open the door and have conversations with it.
Do I agree with her? I don’t know. But do I find that idea interesting? Heck yes. The idea is so bold. So new. So scientifically unproven for a highly educated woman. How? And so I found myself testing and applying the concept. To see if she’s right about it.
And that’s how Gilbert’s got me engaged and stayed with her work.
If Gilbert prioritized Courtesy and said something about creativity that the public generally agreed with - for example, “read books and you’ll find something good”, well, I’m sure she would still be able to entice the audience, but readers wouldn’t stay for so long.
2/ Some Thoughts On Reincarnation by Steven Forrest (blog)
Steven Forrest is an astrologer and the father of Evolutionary Astrology, which claims our birth charts are more of lesson plans for us to learn and evolve, than destined ones.
His bold belief:
Reincarnation is a real deal! Our birth chart exists before we even exist, due to our karmic doings and lessons in past lives.
And every time I stumble on this, my heart sings, but my eyes frown. “That’s interesting, but erm… I’m not sure if reincarnation exists. It has been there in the spiritual world. But it’s not a common thing in other worlds. How valid is this belief?”
Thanks to Forrest’s firm stance on reincarnation, I have something to be skeptical of. And that’s why I keep reading more of his work (3 books in total, 1 finished, 2 ongoing).
3/ Reverence by Kitty (blog)
My best friend, the sorceress Kitty is an Anthropologist on Love. If her writing was a Tarot card, it’d be The Tower.
Her bold belief:
“We must create an environment where children can touch trees and witness the slaughtering of the meat that they eat. Or else, trees become mere decoration and animals are just meals.”
In this piece, Kitty highlights the disconnection between our privilege and the sacrifice of the natural world, which is due to mass production (seen in supermarkets and capitalism). I imagine a group of selfish men would puff their chests and fight back: “But without our supermarkets, how can you get lower costs?”
But still, Kitty didn’t seem to care. She didn’t write: “Well I understand that supermarkets are necessary but…”. Her boldness shocks me as such bravery for a petite-looking feminine friend. And that’s what got the idea stick with me.
80% belief. 20% courtesy.
It’s NOT about keeping one or another: Courtesy or Belief.
As I increasingly identify myself as a writer, I suggest spending 80% creative energy on staying firm in our beliefs, and 20% on being/sounding polite.
80% seems to be a lot. But let’s face it, writers, our job is not to be well-liked. Our job is to introduce a new perspective of life that gives human beings a more comprehensive outlook of the world. And to hope for the perspective to spread as much as possible:
stay firm on our principles, and
find a creative way to introduce that principle so that it makes people ponder about it.
And I know some of you may go:
“Okay, Chau but what if we’re so firm on the wrong beliefs. What if we get so assertive that we become arrogant, and egoistical, and reckless, and narcissistic? Have you seen Trump?”.
Well, that 20% of Courtesy is what keeps us from being an asshole. But honestly, if you’ve already had that question in mind, how can you possibly be one? Might as well spend that creative energy on writing something we truly believe in.
THIS IS A GEM (as always). Sao câu nào viết ra cũng đáng đồng tiền bát gạo vậy bạn mình hỡiiiiiiiiiii <3
Hay quá Châu ưi, I love it. Con đường dẫn đến công thức 80-20 rất thuyết phục, logic.