In the essay ‘The Role of the Writer in a Minority Culture’, published as part of the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness in 1966, Derick Thomson (Ruaraidh MacThomais) notes that in ‘reviving, or renewing, or developing the life of a minority culture’ the writer's role is a crucially important one, and sketches what authors can do to contribute to the survival and flourishing of lesser-used languages and minoritised cultures. He stresses that the ‘writing in the minority language must not be too inward-looking, too introspective with regard to its own society, as this underlines the sense of isolation in the public’, and argues that employing the language for more general purposes has the potential to enhance the prestige of the minority society and increase its competitiveness with the majority. He also claims that ‘much can be done to foster writing by providing media for publication and a more widespread interest’ in literature, which goal can be accomplished both by societies and organisations and by small groups and even individuals, and emphasises the ‘usefulness of encouraging journalism’, underlining its twin psychological and propagandist value.

Thomson further proposes that ‘in a situation such as the Scottish Gaelic one, it would be most useful to have a reasonably close liaison between the scholar and the writer, if the work of rehabilitation is to go ahead smoothly and quickly’. He advises and warns that this imaginary writer should ‘cultivate a tougher skin, and should not be afraid of speaking his mind, even if by so doing he drives himself into some sort of voluntary exile’. To fulfil the role, the writer should endeavour ‘to increase the flexibility and the range of writing in the language, to provide a minimum bulk of such writing, to express the ethos of his society but also to interpret the outside world to it, and to satirise it periodically’.

With his typical readiness to follow his own advice and give a lead, Thomson's career and involvement with the Gaelic revitalisation efforts in the second half of the twentieth century are an exemplification of the essay's proposal, including the twinning of the role of the writer and the academic.