Write with Your Heart on Your Sleeve

“At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” – Plato

When you feel a strong emotion, you connect memories, thoughts and feelings to it that will last forever. It doesn’t always have to be a god feeling either. The taste of salty popcorn can flood back angry memories of that time you caught your sweetheart at the movies with someone else.

The thoughts and memories that you do form in these situations, become you. They shape your personality, character and even your future. They have a profound effect on people which we then pass on to others in the form of advice, or stories or explanations for our own behavior.

When you are writing, don’t try to show emotion. Actually pour emotion in. Open up your heart, your mind and soul. Empty your wildest dreams, your darkest thoughts and nightmares, the things you desire most into the story you are telling. Let your writing come alive.

Listen to some music. Everyone attaches music to special memories as well as some awful memories, but they are all part of you. Then let what you feel enter your characters or your voice in the text and your reader will feel them too. This in turn will absorb them in your world and keep them hooked and wanting more. Good memories release endorphin rushes that you become addicted to so relive them as you write, pass on the feeling to your characters and story. Your readers will come back looking for another hit. Same goes for fears and bad memories. Let them loose from the constraints of your mind, allow yourself to suffer them. This will help your readers identify with you and your text and really let them feel the roller coaster of the bad and good parts of life.

Enjoy writing, put your heart and soul into it. It will benefit you mentally as well as bringing writing to life!