In this social, political, and economic climate, it’s pretty hard to ignore everything that’s going on around you as you’re writing. Even if you’re writing a completely fictional story, there will always be the possibility that you are going to be inspired by the world around you. However, there are ways to use your writing skills to inspire social change.

Find topics that you are passionate about to write in opposition for or against. You want to evoke change, and you can’t do that if you aren’t putting in the passion social change requires. Putting your heart and soul in your work and giving it your all is a powerful tool that can persuade your readers to take your opinion into consideration. If you don’t care about your topic, it will show in your writing; and if you don’t care, then why should the audience? Passion is the key to successful persuasion which in turn is the key to encouraging change in society.

Stand your ground. Whatever you believe, make sure you can confidently support it with both your words and research. Your opinion should be one that you stand behind and something that you are able to speak about. It’s harder to discuss topics when you are on the fence about it, or you don’t fully grasp the significance of it.

Research the topic you choose so that you can present the most factually based article or book. You should be able to back up your argument; it shouldn’t all be based on opinion, even though it is something you believe in. How can you support your argument, and how can you get your audience to trust and understand your point of view? It is important to cite from reliable sources—not sources that you found that agree with you. Your sources should be written by credible writers, and you shouldn’t rely on social media posts, even though you can include them in your writing as societal observations.

Get opinions from your peers or people from different backgrounds. Everyone has their own opinion and including them in your work can help strengthen your point. If you have someone who agrees with you, that’s great; however, having someone who disagrees with you can be even better. You can use this as a rebuttal to further prove what we need to change about society. Sometimes, people may think that people who think a certain way or believe certain things are hyperbolized. But if you include a real person who genuinely thinks that way, you can emphasize the importance of what you are advocating for.

There is a great need for people who are unafraid to speak—or write—their mind in this day and age. We need people who are unafraid to stand up for social and political justice. We need to hear different opinions, and we need to get our thoughts and feelings to the people who can help us make a change in our world. Nothing can change if we are not willing to fight for it, whether figuratively or literally.