Why Being A Writer Can Be Scary

The difference between the reader and the writer? The reader is hidden. The writer is laid bare. – Emily Freeman

Writing, it’s an art that exposes the heart of the writer + leaves a deposit in the reader.

Think about it.

– Songwriters have the power to mold lives + define cultures as people + movements sing their lines over their lives.

– Creative + fiction writers have the ability to take the reader into their mind + into a new world.

– Copywriters use their persuasive vocabulary + skill of strategically stringing the right words together to draw the reader in to wanting what they have.

Really, writing is a powerful skill to have.

And the most powerful of writing comes from when a “writer is laid bare.”

It’s often been said that the degree of vulnerability to which something is delivered is the degree of power + impact it will have on the receiver.

I guess that’s why when someone’s life story is told + written for all to see, it’s impacting – they chose to lay it bare.

It’s even true for the Bible as it remains one of the greatest + most impacting pieces of writing ever. Why? Because the Creator of everything we know, are yet to discover, + will never fully fathom decided to lay it bare + tell His Story.

And being a writer is scary because you know that when you write you lay yourself bare in front of all to see.

You procrastinate + post a day late (whoops), but you also realize that by not writing you’re causing a great injustice to the talent you were graced with.

You may never see or know whose reading your words, but they’re your words + it’s your story.

When you lay it bare you have nothing more to offer your reader. The beauty in that is that it makes you freely available to carry a new experience + thought… that you can once again tell + lay it all bare.

The ‘new’ can be scary for a writer (that new blank page or new idea to come up with) but I’ve recently come to realise is that it’s way more scary living with an unwritten story inside of you.

Take a deep breath. Type those words, in your journal, blog, or even as a tweet. Breathe in the courage + simply, release…