I believe some of the most profound changes in readers
happen while reading personal writing.
I am always open to learning and inspiration, and want to
know and understand others’ feelings, thoughts and motivations, so I gravitate
toward personal essays and similar fiction. Many personal pieces are positive and give us
a warm feeling. Others are full of
difficult experiences, and when we read them it’s as if we were partaking in their
grief, anger or misery. Actually, I am
willing to do that, as long as they are not sensationalistic, intended to startle
or shock, and as long as there is a benefit.
My favorite authors of personal writings use introspection,
contemplation, and analysis in order to help readers gain some new insight or
encouragement.
All this about reading
personal writings is just to say that I want to keep these in mind when I am
the writer. It is important to me to have
a strong worthwhile purpose and message that will result in a revelation or
inspiration for the reader.
It is also important to me to be upbeat. Although I spill almost everything out in my
journals, even in that private place I prefer to be positive and not dwell
overly much on things that are hurtful or upsetting. I guess it’s because I plan to re-read them,
and I know what I’m talking about, even if I don’t give all the gory
details. Or I think that someone else
might end up reading them, and don’t want anyone to misunderstand them.
Similarly, I want all my “public” writing to uplift and
encourage, and don’t usually have a problem being transparent and honest about
my own foibles, mistakes, failures, confusion, revelations, relationships, hopes,
dreams, and limitations. But I don’t
want a reader to feel upset or depressed.
So in my writing, I find myself hesitant to share the negative—the sad, tough,
painful—things in my heart.
However, God may have other ideas. I recently wrote a draft of a short story in
which I had the main female character struggling with something I’d struggled
with years ago. I was surprised to find the
character narrating my story, something that I hadn’t thought of for a long
time, and that I’d never really talked about with anyone before. But there it was, right there all over the
page where someone could read it. I felt
uncomfortable and exposed, and considered erasing it. But then I decided just to go with the flow
and write it all out.
That was a new experience, and now it feels like it’s “out
there”, even though at this point I would feel embarrassed and ashamed for
people to read it. And maybe that’s as
far as it was supposed to go—in my mind and on my notebook, for me to ponder
and pray about. One day I may decide it should
be available to the public in some form, but for now, I’m just feeling excited to
realize that my quick prayer for God to guide my writing was clearly answered
in a significant way.
William Wordsworth encouraged his wife to “fill your paper with
the breathings of your heart”. It takes
courage and skill to do that, and not everyone tends to be aware of the
stirrings inside, or to have the ability to write words to describe those stirrings. But we writers do! So we need
to breathe out the words in our hearts.
I believe this is one of the most important ways that heavenly love and
wisdom are communicated on this earth.
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lecates/307250887/
Ramona Heikel
Happilywriting.com
