Bring a Voice From the Heart to Your Writing

 

Words Are The Voice Of The Heart

I have a stone coaster by my computer that is black with gold letters that send a message to me every time I look at it. Words Are The Voice Of The Heart. So simple but also meaningful.

Writers brush words across a paper canvas, but the words are not always from the heart. We sometimes think only of writing as our job, our business, and we lose the emotion that should drive those words we write. 

If we don't write with emotion, others will not see or feel the emotion as they read our words. I read a short essay the other day that brought a lump to my throat and left me feeling warm all over. That writer wrote from her heart, and in doing so, she reached mine. 

There are writers who have a hard time showing their own emotions in their writing. Let's be honest, many of us cannot show emotion publicly when speaking to others or delivering a speech. Think about the workshops you've attended, and I'm guessing they are many. Which ones do you remember the most? Probably the speakers who spoke from their heart, who bared their emotions to you, and brought your own emotions to the surface. Those are the workshop presenters who make you want to hurry home and start writing. 

It works the same with what you write. Bring your voice from your heart, and you'll impress your readers far more than if the words come only from your head. Show that you care about the words you write. Even if you're writing a How-To article. You can add personal experience to back up your advice. Show your readers how doing the How-To affected you. Personalization speaks to readers.

You would think memoirists always write from the heart, that they bring their heartfelt feelings to their readers. The successful ones do, but there are others who still are afraid to bare their souls and write with the feelings and emotions that sparked whatever it is they are writing about in their memoir. Readers don't want a mere report of what happened. They want to hear your 'voice of the heart.'

For a writing exercise, write about an experience you had. Anything, anywhere. Write it first telling what happened as a report, no emotion. Then write it again and add your feelings, the emotions that you had when it happened. When you write the second version, use the voice of you heart.