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Going Viral

Have you ever watched a massive flock of birds the way they all seem to move as a synchronised whole. I wonder is there one bird who is orchestrating the rest? The understanding of the how’s and why’s of the movement isn’t conclusive but it is believed that the mystery will be known in the next five years some scientists think.

For a piece of writing to go viral I wonder if there are specific things the writer does to create the wave of followers that flock after their every word? I don’t know if we will ever know for certain but it’s worth reflecting on the possible cause.

Conor McGregor: “I never lose – either I win, or I learn.”” (from “How to Write an Awesome Novel

Trying to understand the reasons and emulating writing which goes viral is worth spending some of our time on. Here is an experiment I did with my workmates and I also ran the same experiment with the members of a reading group I attend.

The experiment.

I read out four pieces of writing just the opening paragraph and I asked them to pick the one which they would like to read. To read it to a conclusion so to speak. Both sets all chose the same piece. One person chose the piece I wanted most to complete. I have done both now and sent them out to magazines to maybe get published. If you don’t buy the tickets…