Writing from the “you”

Inspiration

By Charles Towne

Why do you want to write? What do you hope to get out of it? And why does it matter to you?

Another thing you have to think about is just as tough, just as dangerous, and just as private... and it's this:

You have to know what you want to put into your writing, and what you want to leave out of your writing.

And this is where the real writer comes to the fore.

This is a very personal matter, because the more of yourself you put into your writing, the more people are going to know YOU...yes, they are going to see all of your foibles, your warts, your pimples, your real YOU, and you might not want them to know you as well as they will.

You know you, don’t you? I mean you really KNOW you. You know the bad things you've had to get through to get where you are. You know where you've screwed up, where you've gone wrong. You know your nasty little secrets, your darkest thoughts. Yeah, you know the real you, and if you write what you know, some of you is going to sneak out onto the page, into what you write.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all bad. A lot of it is good. You know your fantasies, your aspirations, your realities,your victories. You know what matters to you, what you care about, what you love. All will sneak into your writing, it can’t NOT sneak in because these are you, and the best writers write what they know best, which is themselves

If you're writing true to yourself and close to the bone, down on the nasty gut level---if you're writing honestly---all of these things are going to creep into your writing.

Now the real scary part is this, the secrets you drop about yourself as you write won't be obvious to you. You won't see them, most times, until some reader points them out to you.

Why?

Because as you write, your right brain starts kicking inbrilliant ideas about characters, but most of these are ideas made brilliant because they are a part of you. They just don't SEEM like a part of you as you write them, but please believe me when I tell you that they are YOU.

The issue about writing the “you” really becomes evident as you write fiction, and there are two ways to keep from revealing yourself while writing in the fiction genre. The first is to only write things you don't care about, and if you do that? Well, you don’t want to do that.

The second is to not write fiction at all.

Good fiction is personal. If you're writing---and if what you'rewriting matters to you---you are going to be in your fiction, and the people who read what you've written will read your mind.

They will see YOU.

This is the job. It's the price you pay for creating.

Continue only when you're sure this is a price you're willing to pay.

Now, as I have said before, sit your behind in that chair and write; you’ll be glad you did.

personally, I think writing is worth it but then you have to decide for yourself don’t you.

But if you dare, you can do this, and believe me, in the end you will be glad you did.

Charles Towne is first and foremost a Christian. An octogenarian, author, journalist, wildlife photographer, naturalist, caregiver, and survivor, his life has been and continues to be, a never-ending adventure filled with possibilities never imagined. He has adopted the philosophy that to Live fully, laugh uproariously, love passionately, and learn like there is no tomorrow, is a formula for a long and joy-filled life.