Good writing touches something personal within us. It reaches across space and time, and sparks a deep, sometimes hidden, emotional chord—in our hearts, in our minds, in our guts.

Writing like that transcends the noise we’re inundated with every day. It speaks to us in a way we long to be spoken to. It does this so well that we not only listen—we feel heard.

If you want to touch your reader so honestly, you can’t be a peddler of surface-level thoughts. 

Let yourself go to those places that feel raw and real. 

It’s tempting to censor yourself. To protect the vulnerable places and smooth over the rough edges that might irritate others. 

Close the door when you write—especially during your first draft. 

You need privacy. Sacred privacy, a cocoon where your truth feels safe to show its face. As Jonathan Franzen said, “Because the private self is where my writing comes from.”

After your work is complete—I mean a complete first draft—you can take a step back, let it breathe, and consider what raw truths you want to keep on the page. You may decide to scale it back in favor of professionalism, self-protection, or preserving personal relationships. That’s okay, and appropriate in many cases.

Just be aware that taking too many steps back makes it hard to touch that chord in your reader’s gut.