What Writers Sacrifice When They Follow Trends

I’ve noticed something over the years about some of the writers who get a lot of reads: They find a topic they can spin from a lot of angles as small new developments continue to come in. It’s often a topic that people are emotionally invested in or can learn from in some way. I’ve seen writers go for months talking about Taylor Swift, airlines, or McDonald’s.

But what’s the cost?

What can’t you write about if you’re stuck writing mainly about Kamala Harris for six months? What do you sacrifice if all you publish is work about fashion shows, artificial intelligence, SpaceX, or the business side of marijuana?

Why writers cling to what everybody talks about

If you’re an expert in a topic and are genuinely psyched about it, I’ve got no problem with you pressing repeat. This is the true definition of a niche wordsmith — one who, because of their in-depth understanding and passion about a topic, has a long-term drive to keep revisiting that topic and make it a signature of their career.

But the fact that many writers I see eventually leave off writing about topics when they’re not as popular suggests to me that they’re not particularly in love with the subjects. The impression I get based on the business of writing is that trends that hold a lot of spin potential are easy to milk for income. They get a lot of clicks, and when your income depends on click-throughs, that matters. There’s something to be said for respecting and delivering what the audience wants, as that contributes to loyalty and future reads. And when you write about something often, efficiency is an eventual side effect. You can lean on a more formulaic approach, even in the way you construct headlines — a little A/B testing easily shows you which structure to keep using.

How the practice looks in real life

Let’s say some video of a screaming child on a plane goes viral. The writer might do a whole post about how the way the plane staff handled the kid is a “masterclass in emotional intelligence.”

You don’t have to care two beans about the video. All you have to do is recognize that it’s something people will read (the virality of the video is proof) and then offer some kind of broad insight/opinion (e.g., kids do well if you x, y, or z).

“Emotional intelligence” sounds smart and attaches to such a wide range of interpersonal interactions, and “masterclass” appeals to the reader’s desire to learn and succeed. So, you can use “masterclass in emotional intelligence” in the headline even if you don’t go into depth about why the approach of the staff worked (maybe some neuroscience?) and how to implement that approach in other areas of life (maybe a grounding strategy?). For a different publication, you could take that exact same video and write about how horrible flying has become, pulling in examples from other viral videos or news pieces.

Not just an article issue

The issue of nestling into trends can find its way to books, too. Say a writer does well with a lesbian romance novel because publishers are focusing on LGBTQ authors and there’s good demand for lesbian romances from readers. The author might opt to write only lesbian romances to ensure they can keep getting published. They might be able to produce a fantastic science fiction work or mystery and even have some ideas, but they don’t explore those parts of their creativity because they prioritize sales and building a following.

The heart of the trends problem

And this is the core dilemma.

When a writer grabs onto a popular topic or genre and writes about it for an extended period, they can give up their ability to explore their full authenticity as a creative individual. In the worst case scenario, they can completely set aside what they’d truly like to write because of who they are and have experienced. Their identity as a writer is shaped by external factors, not by the internal truth of what matters to them. Their growth as a creative gets stunted because they cannot break free to take artistic risks and do not have as much time to gather information from many other areas.

Not all writers do this. But especially over the last several years, the creative environment has become exceptionally harsh, not only to writers, but all artists. Now more than ever, people have to work harder to achieve financial stability. For many writers, the only path to that stability is catering to the masses and reducing the variety of their content. Their content becomes like the fast-food companies they might repeatedly write about — popular and pleasing in the moment, but lacking any real substance.

A better way isn’t clear yet, but we have to find one

Writers who never pay attention to what audiences are doing will struggle to be relatable and known to those audiences. But writing is never completely about the audience. It’s also a way for a writer to express who they are. Because the value of that expression and the subsequent connection that results is larger than the value of only being entertained, writers need to find a better way to make money than following trends and denying what they really want to put on the page.