Why I Write: Own Who You Are
Whether you write mysteries, romance, biographical novels, or children’s books, it’s important to own who you are. No matter the genre, your mind and your thoughts will be revealed to the reader in some way. Writing is no different from an intimate relationship. It’s important to bare your soul and be who you are, otherwise, the relationship may not survive.
The readers are much smarter than you think, especially avid ones. They could easily figure out why you put certain things into your work. It’s only natural for this to come out. I won’t go on a psychological rant as to why I believe this to be true but trust me when I say there’s something to this theory.
What I’m trying to say is don’t change your work for anyone. If you want to write about a guy that talks to aliens through his coffee mug, by all means do it. If you’re liberal or conservative and you want your values to show through your story, knock it out of the park. If you’re interested in writing a memoir, don’t hold back and don’t cut corners.
BE WHO YOU ARE.
People can tell when you’re not invested in your writing. If you’re writing just to get published by appeasing crowds and taking advantage of a trendy topics, I can assure you that your success will only last so long. You may be successful at first, but trends don’t last forever. Just ask people that grew up in the 1980s.
I put my heart, values, and my thought process into my writing. Did I get scolded for some of it? Sure, I did. There’s always going to be someone whining or complaining about something, especially these days.
You want to know what? No one can take who you are away. No one can change you.
When I was in middle school, everyone was listening to G-Unit (I have no clue who that is until this day) and I was listening to Barry Manilow. Yes, I said Barry Manilow. How many fifth graders do you know that probably do that? Not many. There was never anything wrong with that and I never changed for anyone no matter how many people thought I was odd.
I also wear what society dubs, “dad shoes,” or should I say my New Balance shoes. I’m not going to suffer with pain from my bad feet because Nike is supposed to be, “cool.” Keep in mind that I absolutely love Nike and their product, my foot doctor just told me to wear shoes with better support and recommended New Balance specifically.
When someone brings it up to me, I just own it. I just play along and say, “Yes, I’m a father of three and I will be cooking at your barbeque in these shoes.”
I’m not a father of three, but I may actually cook at your barbeque. I’m one hell of a chef.