Staying True

The hard part of writing is often not the act of writing itself, but rather the struggle with being able to say what we really mean. As writers, we are swayed by many forces that can get in the way of being true to ourselves. We worry about what others will think if we write what we really mean. This includes family, friends, co-workers, etc. We don't want to offend anyone and we don't want anyone to think badly about us because we have written honestly what we really feel and think. So we tend to hold back, unwilling to risk the negative consequences of getting on someone's bad side. Likewise, we worry about what we think the publishing world expects of us. We concern ourselves with what editors and publishers want, what readers may be asking for, and what is expected of us as writers. This can both intimidate and block us from saying what we really want to say because we fear rejection and being told our writing just doesn't stack up. As a result of these pressures and influences, we often dilute what we want to say. We drain the life out of our message and our emotions and serve up something we think is more palatable to the world that will be judging us. Our writing languishes in the depths of mediocrity and conformity and we give up our writing dream. We may get published writing this way, but we rob ourselves of the true spirit of writing. We become writing mechanics, but not writing artists. It is hard to ignore the voices that drown us when we write, but we have to tune them out to the extent that they don't extinguish the flame that drove us to writing in the first place. Accepting feedback is one thing. Letting it dampen us is another. We must always, unwaveringly, stay true to our own voice, our unique message, and become the writers we were meant to be.