What do writers owe readers?

Humans are the inventors of letters, the same symbols, though varied in shape and size, make invisible rounds in virtually every brain. With time, a group evolved, and due to their artistic flare in the use of these letters or symbols, became known as writers. But in reality, probably everyone writes, in one form or […]

Humans are the inventors of letters, the same symbols, though varied in shape and size, make invisible rounds in virtually every brain. With time, a group evolved, and due to their artistic flare in the use of these letters or symbols, became known as writers. But in reality, probably everyone writes, in one form or the other. Still, these select few earn the name ‘writer’ simply for being prolific at what they do, prolific, to a degree that their writings influence other people, society, nation or even the world. Gradually, a sort of oligarchy was formed in this field where ‘a few’ write for others to read. But today that oligarchy appears to be somewhat broken, creating a wider arc facilitated by the continual advancement in computer technology. Thus, Wikipedia defines a writer as “a person who uses written words in various styles and techniques to communicate ideas.” It alsosays “writers produce various forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, poetry, plays, news articles, screenplays, or essays.”
Part of the definition given by Wikipedia resonates in Bunmi Familoni’s words. “A writer’s primary responsibility to his readers is to entertain,” says this voracious reader, who has a collection of short stories on the way.
“A writer’s primary responsibility to his readers is to entertain, not just in the form of mere amusement, but to excite his readers to the point of rapturous restlessness. A writer must be able to deliver the most colourful sentences that would make his readers literally bounce up and down on their seats for joy and make their hearts leap in exhilaration, and must at the end of the story have left the reader with a full sense of fulfilment, not just of mere satisfaction, but of literary satiety,” Familoni emphasises.
Yes, colour is important. But there is more than just the need to dazzle and entertain. Familoni knows this, and probably, so do many readers. He continues: “There is also the loftier intellectual responsibility of questioning, of interrogating social norms and ills, of holding up a mirror to the society and showing them their flaws, an artistic exercise that should spark debates among members of the intelligentsia and literati in such a way that it draws more attention to this ‘flaw’ in the society rather than the aesthetic elements of the work and its artistic quality.”
Despite the desire to meet the reader’s needs, there appears to be a place in some writers’ hearts to first think of whether or not this is what they want to put down. In this way, there is a possibility that readers may never be totally fed of what they want.
“It’s a delicate balance,” begins Kelechi Njoku, a broadcast journalist, who has been published in various journals, including Aerodrome, Kalahari Review and Open Road Review. He also won the West African Regional Prize in the 2014 Writivism Short Story Competition.
“On the one hand, a writer generally doesn’t see his work as a debt he owes the reader – just as the reader doesn’t owe him their time, and on the other hand, if the writer is going to feature in people’s bookshelves, I guess it’s not too much to ask that he cares that these readers care about his work. I don’t know any definite rules for achieving this though. For me, when I write, when I pick sentences apart and take out others altogether, check my facts and so on, it’s because I want my readers’ experience of my ideas to be worthwhile – I think I owe them that.  I will not always succeed, of course, nor will I compromise myself, but I will always make this effort,” Njoku says.
Olugu Orji, an architect as well as a book warm, explains that writing is very unlike showbiz that is almost entirely audience-driven. “Propelled by passion, duty and conviction, it isn’t so much what the writer owes readers as what he or she owes himself or herself. Among very many obligations, there are three I consider most critical,” he notes.
“You must strive as a writer to remain on the side of truth. The pressure to be otherwise can be quite intense and the consequences of compliance sometimes dire, but even in the event of trouble, only the truth can set free. Also, expressing strong opinion on the basis of facts is the writer’s forte but you are never at liberty to doctor those facts. Your opinion as a writer may not be popular but if you did not arrive there by manipulating the facts, even when readers disagree with you, you will retain their respect and admiration,” Orji adds.
“No matter how enamoured you are with another’s style, copying will soon dry up the ranks of your readership. Be simple and maintain your originality if, as a writer, you are intent on the long haul,” he advises.