This week: Taking Risks Edited by: Jeff  
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You never know what you can do until you try,
and very few try unless they have to."
— C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of the regular editors of the official Noticing Newbies Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 400 newsletters across the site in that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me directly or submit feedback in the comment box at the bottom of this newsletter. |
Taking Risks
Pushing limits was never something I was very comfortable with. As a kid, I almost always followed the rules and did what I was told. In school, I followed the instructions on my assignments. My professional career has been defined by "playing by the rules" (i.e., operating within the parameters of reasonable expectations, not making waves or causing trouble, etc.). My natural inclination is to work within existing systems and frameworks to do the best that I can.
Unfortunately, that also a recipe for not accomplishing much as a writer.
In order to improve, you have to take risks. Athletes push themselves to run faster, hit harder, lift more, aim more accurately, etc. all the time. Scientists try experiments that don't work in order to gather data and improve the chances of success with future experiments. Comedians practice refining the jokes in their set relentlessly, sometimes falling flat with material that doesn't pan out.
Writers, similarly, need to push themselves to improve. Whether that's writing situations they're unfamiliar with, or experimenting with character relationships and dialogue that makes them uncomfortable with, or even pushing the limits of what will offend an audience, writers in search of greatness are always pushing themselves to the limits of their ability. Which sometimes means they overshoot the mark and something either doesn't work or even has an adverse effect. Then they rewrite it and try again. That's not to say you should try to be offensive for the sake of being offensive, just that pushing your limits risks potentially offending someone, somewhere. And if you're not pushing yourself, you're not going to develop your skills.
We live in a world that is, increasingly, becoming risk-averse. Many people are less tolerant of opposing views, and have higher expectations that someone cater to their individual tastes and preferences. The hard part about that is, when you have an entire audience to consider, not every member of the audience is going to be of the same opinion about everything. So the act of writing and sharing your work, by its very nature, means that chances are good someone is going to read it and have an issue with it. They might even hate it.
But that shouldn't dissuade you from writing what you want to write, and pushing yourself to advance your craft. You're not going to please everybody, and if you spend all your time trying to be as inoffensive as possible, you'll end up writing things that are so anodyne and vanilla that nobody's going to remember it.
If you're looking to develop your writing ability (which we should all be trying to do, regardless of our age or level of experience), the best thing you can do is take risks with your writing. Try writing things that are outside your comfort zone, whether that's a new genre, an unfamiliar character personality, or a dialogue exchange that makes you wonder if you're pushing it too far. You shouldn't be looking to offend just for sake of creating offense, but don't be afraid of ruffling a few feathers in the name of advancing your writing ability and testing your own limits.
One of America's Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine, once said, "He who dares not offend cannot be honest," and I've always found that a powerful reminder that, as much as I'm a rule follower and try to get along with everyone and not upset too many apple carts, if I'm too focused on not offending anyone, I risk not being true to myself or honest with others about where I stand on an issue. I'd encourage you to do the same with your writing; be honest enough with yourself and your creative efforts to risk offending people.
Don't go out and look for ways to offend people... but don't be afraid of expressing yourself either, even if you know some people aren't going to like it. Chances are, at least some people probably won't.
But that shouldn't be a reason for you not to write. 
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "Blogocentric Formulations"
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Noticing Newbies: September 17, 2025 Issue [#13354]
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