An open letter to all of my blogging and writing friends out there…
Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons
Who do you write for?
The great question. One which every blogger asks him/herself from time to time, I’m sure.
If you’re fortunate enough to have an audience who loves your voice enough that it doesn’t matter what you say, you’ve hit paydirt and good for you.
Otherwise? Who are you really writing for?
As I told you in the past, I’ve been spending less time here because I’m working on a book. I’m also lucky enough to be working on a freelance job which takes up quite a bit of my time.
Because I need to write.
Be it here or in a Word document or as a ghostwriter talking about all sorts of random nonsense I would never have known anything about otherwise.
I might not always be saying what I want to say, but the stuff I have to write keeps me sharp for the stuff I want to write. Either way, I know I’m blessed to be writing at all.
And even if I never get paid to do it again, I’ll still write. Because it’s one of the few constant compulsions which has spanned the breadth of my life. It wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t supposed to be there.
Same goes for you.
The guiding force in our universe didn’t give you a way with words, my beautiful friend, if you weren’t intended to use that gift.
And it’s likely that you feel the need to use this talent. Because it’s inside you, wanting to get out. That’s the whole point. Your job on this planet is to express this gift for the good of others.
And there are others. No matter your message, no matter your story, if there is one other person who can relate…your job is done.
But you’re never finished. Because there are more stories inside you – a whole wealth of them, waiting to float gracefully or perhaps struggle to the surface.
And there will be other people out there, waiting to hear your voice even if neither of you knows it yet.
And if no one ever reads it but your family and friends, you’ll still be the winner in the end. Because one more person in the world made use of their talents instead of keeping them hidden away, and that kind of energy heals the world in time.
So do the world a favor. Write. Be it on your blog, in a bestselling book, in a journal.
Share your beautiful self, even if it’s not all beautiful. Because even though we’re all so different, at heart we’re fundamentally the same. We all get scared, we all feel ashamed of ourselves sometimes, we all feel goofy or horrible or funny or clever.
Let it out, and remind someone else that they’re not alone after all.
Get it all out there. Let writing be your therapy. Let it heal you.
Let it fire you up and give you a reason to bounce out of bed in the morning and a reason to smile with self-satisfaction when your head hits the pillow. So many people never get the chance to feel that way – don’t let your chance pass you by.
Just write. For you. Because you need to.
I’m sharing this with the lovely Shell at Things I Can’t Say – because don’t we all need to pour our hearts out from time to time?
