I can’t speak for other writers, but when it comes to sharing anything personal, I shy away from it. Now, I know that as a writer everything we write in a sense is personal. It has to be, unless it’s straight facts journalism, of course.
I mean creative writing in the main. You know we write all of this stuff and it comes from somewhere. We like to think it’s all from our sub-conscious or simply pass it off as a vivid imagination, but really we know deep down that it’s personal.
We accept this, because we know our experiences go to form our creative output. Every heartbreak, or lover’s caress go to increasing our own abilities.
I just caught myself writing on behalf of the other writers I said I couldn’t speak for. Why did I do that? Simple, because it made these feelings become a little more distant, something slightly apart from, just me.
No, writing anything too personal feels too like I’m exposing a raw nerve. I love to write about others, character’s experiences, traits and lives. Yet, when it comes to a simple blog post about one of my own experiences I can take so long fighting myself over whether to write it and allow it to be seen by others.
Fiction is another thing, can’t wait to get that out there and into other people’s hands. Is this just me or do you feel this way too?
I became a writer because I was fascinated with the human condition, even as a child people intrigued me. I’ve lived a life filled with experiences both good and bad and have a wealth of personal knowledge.
So, why is the nerve so difficult to expose. The times I do force myself to write something honest and release it into the wild, people respond so well and appreciate my trust in them.
I think this is a nerve I need to keep exposing, because perhaps over time it will become easier. What do you think?
