Writers dealing in different genres   play pivotal role in determining culture and mentality of a society. They set the tone and attitude on micro and macro levels. No one can deny the power of pen and influence of books in character-building. We are living in an age of information and technology full of awareness, proactivity, inquiry and knowledge. Modern readers of columns, articles, novels, poetry and short stories have become quality-conscious and they do not accept stereotype ideas. Columnists in print media and online article-writers have become very instrumental and influential in intellectual grooming of masses as well as ruling elite. How they touch the pinnacle of writing? To find out the answer we have to meditate on the characteristics of an influential piece of writing.

First of all a good writer should be a voracious reader. Multi-dimensional reading with strong comprehension will provide a strong foundation for impressive writing.  Steven Koch, Princeton and Columbia teacher says: “You should read and read and read. That is your only hope of ever developing a decent individual style”. There should be a diversity of thoughts with magical insight. Borrowed ideas through ‘cut-copy-paste culture’ have destroyed originality and creativity. While modern reader demands individuality-cum-novelty. A good writer does not harp on the same ideas by flogging a dead horse. There should be a balance between sentiments and rationalism. A downright realistic or purely utopian idea does not appeal readers. A reader usually takes a cursory glance of columns and articles during net surfing or general reading. Attention grabbing title with question-and-answer style will appeal and can maintain the interest of readers. A good writer describes his ideas with journalistic norms while keeping others’ in mind without invading privacy. Relativity of ideas and facts with corroboration is an important quality of a well-organized piece of writing. It should not be like a jumbled snapshot of haphazard ideas. William Strunk Jr, author of “The element of style” says: “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph, and no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts”. Versatile experience and deep observation of writer leave indelible marks on the minds of readers. A good writer should be a good surgeon of society.

Technically speaking, purity of language is the backbone of writing. An influential writer is a role model for readers so he should be very careful about spellings, tenses and grammar mistakes. Different ideas should be well-defined in different paragraphs. A good writer strictly follows brevity and avoids redundancies to keep the interest of readers alive. Jargons, stodginess, verbosity, circumlocution, absence of rhythm and monotony of rhythm create boredom and irritate the reader. A good writer knows the difference between childish and professional expressions. Clarity of thoughts and aim bring clarity in writing. A thought which comes from the core of heart and soul will definitely appeal heart and soul.