I admit, every once in a while, I’ll kiss a book. ‘Writing to Change the World’ by Mary Pipher was one of them. It’s a feeling of kinship and gratitude beyond words. If you’ve ever felt like a ‘radical’ or been called ‘fanatical’ this book will give you inspiration to keep going. Mary Pipher encourages the reader to be bold giving her own examples of how she used to write sentences like, “Based on previous information, we could tentatively conclude for certain populations…” That kind of writing changed to sentences like, “We live in a girl-poisoning culture.” Having such clear examples will help any reader be more direct and honest in their writing.
She quotes people like Adrienne Rich who said, “That which is unspoken becomes unspeakable.” Lately I’ve become aware of unspeakable acts by humans. It makes me wonder if more of us had spoken up, could have we stopped the suffering? There are guiding quotes throughout – another one by Marion Dane Bauer who said, “Never think of revising as fixing something that is wrong. That starts you off in a negative frame of mind. Rather think of it as an opportunity to improve something you already love.” It’s a great reminder. What do you love?
Mary Pipher helps the reader determine his or her point of view to set the stage for writing about their cause. Are you an intimate insider, an outsider or a connected critic? Do you want to encourage kindred spirits or change from one point of view to another?
She has an easy to read style with just the right amount of personal stories. Mary writes… if the most important thing for restaurants is ‘location, location, location; then what’s needed for persuasion is ‘connection, connection, connection.’ I felt a deep care and commitment as I read this book. If you have a cause that needs to be brought to people’s awareness, do it skillfully with the tools included in this book.