Write For Rights - Write-A-Thon

Want to write? Here's what you need. A central idea, a set of ideals, which propels the writer to a logical conclusion. The hero? Someone the reader wants to be. End of the day, it's a must that your words inspire change in the reader - Whether it be picking up some of the slang, a change in lifestyle or, in the best of circumstances, a transfer of ideas and ideals from paper to mind.

An example would be non-fiction writers who catalog human rights abuse. The writer has this feeling that he or she is fighting to correct some wrong. It's less about writing, and more about the subject matter. Meaning that you, the writer, are part of a crusade. And this gets transferred into paper and shows up as the central idea. Couple this with some moving and graphic pictures, detailed research and citing of facts and what you have is that the sense of fighting on behalf of the oppressed is transferred from the writer to paper and crawls into the reader's mind.

Look up a few articles and features written Nicholas Kristof for the New York Times, and you'll realize what I'm blabbering about. He's not a great writer. What he does have is an unshakable sense of conviction and a quixotic impulse to fight for the downtrodden. He doesn't play with words like say, David Brooks. I'd say that he's more of a human rights activist than a writer. Every other day, he's slam-bang in the middle of a new mess. He turns up in remote and oppressed parts of the world, and the local two-bit dictator starts quaking in his boots thinking about the backlash from a Kristof article in the NYT. Womens' rights in Pakistan, the Orange revolution in Ukraine, Rose revolution in Georgia, Darfur, call-girls in Cambodia....

You don't have to be a Kristof or an NYT columnist to be able to do this. You can sit on your butt in your parents' basement and write about it. By participating in Amnesty International's annual Global Write-a-thon. Every December, AI activists from countries all over the world write letters during the Global Write-a-thon. The letters and postcards they write effect powerful change in the lives of individuals, help stop violence against women and contribute to the release of Prisoners of Conscience around the world. "The candle burns not for us, but for all those whom we failed to rescue from prison, who were shot on the way to prison, who were tortured, who were kidnapped, who ''disappeared'. That is what the candle is for." - Peter Benenson ( Founder, Amnesty International )

End of the day, your writing is better because you care. And you become a better person because you write about things which concern you. Your writing holds you up to a certain standard, and it's difficult to run away from those standards. Alcohol helps, but there really is no escape. As a rule, writers are like water - Always looking for the path of least resistance. Write for rights, and you'll not only be a writer, but also a better person.