...the breathings of your heart.

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
 
The quote above is short and simple but speaks of a necessary tool for any writer. The poet, of course, would use the hauntingly beautiful phrase like "...breathings of your heart." to tell us to write with emotion, with passion.
 
Too often we write a story or essay using only our intelligence, information we've obtained from various places, and all the facts necessary. When you let it simmer for a few days and read it over again, somehow the writing seems flat. No pizzazz, no ooomph to it. What's missing?
 
Those 'breathings of your heart' may be the part that is absent. Add the emotion, the passion, the deep-seated feelings on the subject you've written about, and you may have an altogether different piece of writing.
The emotion we put into our writing brings out the human side and touches the reader's own emotions.
 
Nothing is more wonderful for a writer to hear than a reader saying something like "You brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye." Or "You made me laugh out loud." Or "I felt good all over after reading this."
 
Those stories in the Chicken Soup books are not stories that only report a happening, they tell the story with some emotion. It's what the editors look for, it's what the readers want. Give them the best breathings of your heart.