Why long-form writing lives on

The idea of writing medium/long form content in the age of 15-seconds reels may seem outdated, redundant even, but despite the dwindling readership, long-form writing has managed to survive, thanks to a niche segment that loves reading. It's hard to come by and the pieces that do get written beautifully on pertinent topics get lost in the sea of silly, short-format video content.

I was wondering why, then, some of us continue to write long-form.

The answer lies in the 3 primary ways, I think, long-form writing differs from short-form videos:

• What we write about
• Why we write
• Whom we write for

What we write about

Long-form writing is primarily driven by what the writer wants to write. Of course, when the job is paid for and the writing needs to be about a particular topic/theme, that is a different scenario. Novels, short stories, blog posts etc are all primarily driven by what the writer wants to say. 

Short-form content, however, takes the shape, form and substance of what the "audience" wants to see or hear. While the creator can bring their own flavor to the content, it largely operates within the confines of what sells. That brings me to:

Why we write:

I will go out on a limb here and say that, at least for blog posts, we write because we enjoy writing, and the readership or the lack of it is inconsequential. Sure, we will share the blog post on our socials and nudge you to go read, but the only person whose readership counts for a blog post is that of the writer themselves. The process of writing itself is the goal: to put pen to paper, or to type one's feelings/thoughts away on a keyboard, to give the entire body of text some structure, to tell a story. Writing, then, becomes a therapeutic exercise in and of itself. Writing, then, is not a means to an end, it is the end. Once we hit "publish", we know our thoughts are locked away at a place, in what we hope is a somewhat cohesive body of text, and our hearts and brains lighten and we let out a sigh of relief. That relief is the reward.

Short-form content, on the other hand, trades catharsis for engagement. Even the most authentic creators, who start out by pouring their soul into bite-sized clips, go down the road of audience-pleasing, leaning into latest trends rather than looking inwards. 

Whom we write for:

Without exception, all writers would want to have their works read by as many people as possible. But the act of writing itself - especially in the case of blog posts - is an extremely personal experience. While the output itself may be public, the process is personal - those words just need to get out onto the paper; whether or not another set of eyes fall on them is secondary, inconsequential even.