Don’t let it break your heart: Managing expectations when writing for change BY AINSLEY HAWTHORN
T
he effect a piece of writing will have on its audience is a fundamental concern for any author. We write to move our readers, to spark their imaginations, and in some cases to change their minds. Writing as a form of activism, though, is bound to have an impact on you as a writer too— an impact that has the potential to be harmful if you don’t take care of yourself along the way. As a cultural historian who writes op-eds and analysis pieces for a variety of publications, I’ve covered subjects like COVID, abortion, racism, and queer rights. After publishing over 150 articles, I’ve learned some dos and don’ts for staying motivated when you’re writing for change. DO determine whether you can write the piece you’re planning without compromising your psychological, emotional, or social well-being. While many people find writing therapeutic, addressing subjects that affect you personally can be distressing, and delving into challenging past experiences can even be retraumatizing. Do you have tools to draw on—like healthy coping strategies, supportive family and friends, or a trusted mental health professional—if you experience anxiety, depression, or another negative reaction? If people want to discuss this piece with you in the future, is this a topic you’ll be comfortable rehashing? Doing an honest self-assessment in advance can keep you from wading into subject matter that you may not currently be in a position to write about healthily. DON’T expect to see an immediate impact. Progress doesn’t happen overnight. If a reader disagrees with you, one story probably won’t shift their thinking. Many stories over time, however, might. Avoid putting too much weight on any one piece of writing as a vehicle for change. Remember that this is only one volley in a campaign. Whatever your cause, there are almost certainly other people doing similar work, and you yourself can continue to write on the subject. As the saying goes, anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.
22
WORDworks
| 2025 Volume 2
DO set an attainable goal. Instead of using the number of people you convince as your measure of success, set an objective you can control, like vividly describing your lived experience, providing well-sourced information, or laying out a clear and reasonable argument. Not only will you inevitably fail to change the mind of every reader, you’re unlikely to ever find out how many minds you have changed. Pinning your ambitions to something you can achieve (and verify) will help you feel rewarded instead of unresolved. DON’T read the comments. We all know comment sections can be a morass of halfbaked opinions, insults, and bullying, but who among us hasn’t given in to morbid curiosity and read through them anyway? If you’re going to be publishing on sensitive topics, break the habit of checking comment threads on your work. Online commenters represent only a small minority of readers, and their words are rarely intended as constructive criticism for the author. There’s no need to subject yourself to negativity when you’re unlikely to gain anything beneficial from it. Any form of advocacy requires you to manage your expectations to avoid becoming demoralized. By tempering your idealism with realism, you can buffer your resilience and keep changing the world, word by word, for years to come. Ainsley Hawthorn, PhD, is a cultural historian who writes about forgotten events and the surprising connections between past and present. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, The Washington Post, CBC, and Psychology Today, and she edited the anthology Land of Many Shores: Perspectives from a Diverse Newfoundland and Labrador.