For a couple hundred years, being relatable has been the popular norm in writing. But popular themes have their price. Now, writing about popular culture can get your story hidden in a sea of thousands, millions.
One relatable piece I’ve read recently is Mood Swings by Ajay Tulsiani. The main character, Safiya, tries to improve her life with a class, but her emotions end up in a bottled-up mess. She doesn’t understand her feelings as much as she used to.
Her character is relatable since her life turned upside down in one moment. Everything changed. She didn’t express her emotions nor understand them as much.
At some point, everyone gets one event that messes up all their emotions. The normal routine changes because you’re not sure how to feel anymore. These emotions are strange, hard to define, and everywhere.
Stories like Ajay’s explain this feeling well. But few people know about this story. It’s lost at sea.
It’s hard to get relatable stories out there. To solve this? I’m not 100% sure. Marketing could help, but a person can only market so much. Social media helps only if you have followers to begin with. Maybe one day there can be a place for unknown writers to make their mark together.
Robin LeeAnn 
As a writer it is so easy to just want to freaking get published and read! So then you want to go with the trends. But I think that if writers are going to be true to themselves as well as having a better chance at writing something that lasts, they have to be true to themselves. They don’t have to avoid the pop culture if it’s what they want to write about, but the key is not to write what’s selling simply because it’ selling. And that’s a hard lesson to learn.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree completely. It is a hard lesson to learn. I’ve seen it happen more when writers are thinking about publishing rather than them just writing to write. Some of the best pieces I’ve seen is in workshops when the writers do not expect to publish at all.
LikeLiked by 1 person