Fake It ‘Til You Make It: One Writer’s Path
It’s easy to fall into the trap of playing it safe when we write. We want people to like us and our work. Yet by watering down our beliefs or experiences, we often leave out the vital details that bring our writing alive. If you want to write well, you have to get real. And that goes for fiction writers, too.
So how do we know when we’re writing from a place of deep truth––or not?
Are You:
• Writing in generalities?
• Skimming the surface?
• Not taking time to go deep?
• Using humor inappropriately?
• Worrying about what others will think of you?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you’re probably still stuck playing it safe.
Are you:
• Finding your heart beats faster as you write?
• Discovering more about yourself and what you believe?
• Becoming uncomfortable and downright scared in places?
• Experiencing a sense of excitement, as if you were engaged in an adventure?
• Feeling as if you’re channeling?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you’re writing with courage and honesty. Congratulations!
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Yes, but then I have always written for myself. Years ago my tutor in Journalism wrote: ‘Katrina writes for herself, wonderfully at times, but this may make her work difficult to sell commercially’. Perhaps I should ask myself: at which times is it not wonderful? Attempting to fulfill academic criteria might be part of it. I could say institutions benchmark for their status, with good intentions at times, but this may make their instruction difficult to reconcile with authenticity.
Katrina, it seems that academic writing is in a class of its own. I work with many writers who are recovering from years in academia and trying to find their own voices again. Thanks for bringing this up. It’s really important to recognize their are times when we simply have to write in the voice of (fill in the blank), in order to get our degrees or satisfying a certain criteria. Thank goodness for journaling, which reminds us of the other voice beneath.
I was interested to read your thought-provoking post, and Katrina’s reply. Personally, I don’t believe in a fixed self or a true self. I believe in a multiversa of selves and narratives that bring people more fully alive in all their richness. Being able to see this multiversa enables us to detach from fixed ideas that tend to lead to splitting/projection. This being a ‘web’ way of looking at life, rather than a ‘well’ way, humour is an essential way of holding our stories lightly and being able to detach from them, rather than clinging to them. The bit of your post that I really identify is with the excitement of expanding self=knowledge. That is the really exciting bit of our work as writers or working with clients! I’d be interested to hear your further thoughts.
cheers
Barbara
Barbara, thank you for your thoughtful reply. I do agree humor is important. However, sometimes humor can be used to obfuscate–and this is the humor I refer to. I like your point about the multiples selves–and, in fact, notice this very much in my own writing. As well, yes to the expanding self knowledge that writing brings. Writing as the process of self-discovery is the most thrilling to my mind, but then again, one cannot get there by being inauthentic. Ah, it’s a tangled web we write and weave!
I think it depends on the type of blog you write as to how safe you play it. Personally, I write my blog as authentically as possible and I’ve found that this pays off not just for me but for the reader. I do often feel a mixture of excitement and apprehension after posting, especially if I am dealing with a ‘heavy’ issue. I love the comments from others who can relate when I ‘put it out there’ – doesn’t make it any easier though!
Carolyn,
I know what you mean about blogging from an authentic place. I almost always have to take a nap after sending out my Reclaiming the Wild Soul newsletter, because I too feel that similar sense of apprehension and excitement. Being honest takes courage–and requires constant naps!