How to write to spark action

By Lauren Seibert, ACT:S Advocacy & Campaigns Fellow

The truth is, writers want their readers to become temporarily OCD. We want them to follow an inescapable compulsion to finish the article. We want them snared to the very end. And then we want them to respond.

When writing about issues like human trafficking or malaria, which are ruining millions of kids’ lives as we speak, of course we want to glue readers to our words with the same level of interest that gets “Charlie bit my finger” 200 million views on YouTube—a number that multiplied fast as people told their friends about it. But that doesn’t always happen. Why not?

There’s a big difference between writing informatively about an issue and creating a piece that becomes a catalyst in itself, reacting with readers on a level that sparks them into action.

Keep in mind: knowledge doesn’t translate into action. On an average day in this digital era, a person encounters thousands of images and messages (advertising or otherwise), not to mention all the random facts college students have to cram into their heads daily, plus the apps that deliver tweets or news alerts straight to our phones. Your intended audience probably knows about—or is at least aware of—plenty of issues. But does that mean they read about the situation in Haiti and go donate? Not always.

It’s hard to get your passion to soak into the words you type and actually drench the reader, but we have a few tips to help you out. Some of these come from basic journalism training; some go beyond that into thinking through the content of what you’re writing.

Ever look at that little box on the New York Times website with the “Most Popular” articles? Here’s a sampling from last week: “The New Dating Tools: A Card and A Wink” by Stephanie Rosenbloom; and “The Web Means the End of Forgetting” by Jeffrey Rosen.

Why did people like those articles? Well, the first one is sufficiently ambiguous to snag our curiosity and the second hooks us by jumping right into a story and then spins around to focus on us – how our own “scarlet letters” will come back to haunt us online. Each of those is a good technique for holding a reader’s attention. And after reading, people took action. They emailed those stories to friends, blogged about them, or posted comments.

To think through your content so it can actually have an impact and stir response, we have a few tips that might help:

1. Approach a topic with a new angle/spin (write about it in a way nobody else has). Be creative.

2. Write what you know. Draw from your expertise or passions, your cultural background, your travels, experiences, stories of friends or family, etc.

3. Use an active voice rather than a passive voice (ex: “Malaria strikes children” rather than “children are victims of malaria”).

4. Suggestions for the lead paragraph(s):

• Surprise us with something unexpected

• Dive into the action of a story

• Describe something – appeal to the senses. Maybe leave some room for ambiguity—what is this? Why are you describing it? Fill readers in later

• Reference something in the news or in pop culture

5. Cut out fluff (concise is better).

6. Want to move people to act? End with some kind of call to action, suggest a next step, or leave readers with something to think about.

7. Know your facts – research the issues. World Vision ACT:S has tons of resources available online; feel free to email us for more.

8. To generate ideas for articles on world issues and human response:

• Local connection – What is going on in your state? Your city/town?

• Keep up with the news (not just NY Times; try alertnet.org, etc.) – even the Op/Eds

• Read hot new books on the issues

• Ask around – any friends/family with experiences you can draw from?

• What is your university doing?

• Think about what issues you and your friends don’t care about as much – and find out why

• Read the Book of Acts

• Think creatively about how you can use your talents/skills to raise awareness or start a campaign, DO IT, and write about it.

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