Honest Writing

More than originality, more than accuracy, even more than excitement, readers want honesty from you. They want to know what's in your heart, what moves you, what saddens you, what you have learned from your experiences. They want you to deal directly with tough issues, not dance around them. Readers read to be enlightened, to be inspired, and they look to writers to lead them on that journey. What is meaningful to readers is the raw truth, even if it's ugly and uncomfortable. They want you to trust that they can take it and they want you to give it to them straight, no holding back. It is human nature to want to look at the terrible, unacceptable aspects of life. As abhorred as we are by this lower realm of human experience, we are also incredibly drawn to it. It's the well from which we draw our sustenance, to know that as awful as things can be, we can always hope for better. That's the mission of the human spirit. So readers look to writers to provide that hope, that spark that reminds them there is a better life. To do that, you must write painstakingly honestly - your own truths and others' truths. You have to spare your readers no discomfort or shock or embarrassment. You have to do what it takes to tell the truth and tell it well. That's what makes good writers great.