Writing has long been a tool for resisting and protesting tyranny, societal wrongs, and corrupt governments. With the latest crisis  where children are being snatched from their parents seeking asylum, people are protesting from sea to sea.  In fact, the country seems about to boil over from outrage, rage, and frustration. But luckily we’re writers so we can gather up our frustrations and ire and channel it.  Our written words  can also help us seek and foster solidarity with like-minded people.

Ways you can join in:

• thoughtful social media posts that report new facts or insights
• sharply-written critiques meant to urge others to action
• opinion letters or letters to the editor
• protest, demand for action letters sent to lawmakers or government agencies

Tools to help you along:

• this protest letter template might prove helpful
• and here are more tips to make your writing effective
• a linguist suggests ways to write a protest signs

Tips:

write to a person

be specific, use statistics whenever possible

use strong verbs–renounce, demand,scorn, abort, defend,  oppress, reject, reveal

ask for immediate action

explain your tie-in to the issue

align yourself with the issue by creating a short bio (retired fourth-grade teacher, mother of three, grandmother of 7)

name specific agencies, laws, policies, bills pending in Congress, or culprits involved (ICE zero-tolerance policy)

sign off using your full name and contact information

create word pictures

Bear witness, stay focused, have heart