Monday, December 22, 2008

Words

I love to write, but it's a challenge. When I am content, I often can't find things to write about. When I am upset, I often can't find the words to express my feelings. And I am always so concerned about what other people are going to think about what I write that it causes me to over-edit and over-generalize and over-simplify in an attempt to over-sanitize.

It is no different in my life. When I am happy, I focus on that -- but when I'm not, it's hard for me to express it -- to find the words, to articulate what I feel, what I think. And I am so conscious of other people's feelings that I keep finding myself burying my own. I am paralyzed by fear.

I have to work on that, because, for someone who makes a living as a communicator, I am not always effective at it in my personal life. I need to say things, to get them out into the open -- to make myself heard.


1 comment:

DSL said...

It might help to write short narratives and let people read and critique them so that it becomes easier for you. Even better, give yourself a set amount of time to write a short narrative and then pass it on to someone to read without reviewing it or changing anything. Fiction, of course, is a good way to disguise the personal. And no, you don't have to spell everything out. Leave things open for interpretation. It's about both you and the reader. Well, actually, about the narrative and the reader. People bring their own personal feelings and experiences to what they read. It's not just one-sided.

You're definitely communicating more now on your blog than you have in the past. Do you feel compelled to write stuff and then once it's up wonder if you should have? Maybe not, but I do. But we should do it anyway. Okay, ready for the criticism. :-p