Why We Should Write From the Heart

A Writer’s Guide to Being Yourself…

To write from your heart is the foundation of story writing. Some authors argue it’s about the structure, the twisting plot, the ingenious writing style, and story writing is. 

But a good story—the ones you lose yourself in, and worlds you never want to leave—those came from someone’s heart. 

Now, do I have hard facts on all of this? I admit, no, I do not. From all I’ve observed, though, this is the truth I’ve come to believe. 

The books which are about showcasing an author’s prowess in storytelling don’t speak to me. The story a writer poured their soul into is a story I love. 

When we have the dash of passion infused in every word of our stories, it sings—it will make a difference in someone’s life. Our writing can be that powerful. 

One of the best parts of writing from our hearts, is it’s so much easier than writing what we think  people want to read. To write from our hearts is fun. 

The first step to write from your heart is accepting who you and I are—crazy nerds with crazier imaginations and a heart to love others through our words. 

We sound like superheroes, don’t we? I love it. 

Accept You Are a Nerd + Incredible

Just recently I found out not everybody uses their imagination the same way I do. Did you know not everyone when reading a novel sees a scene in their head? It doesn’t naturally play like a movie for them. 

That blew me away. 

One of the reasons I fell in love with books was because of this magic—when the words and pages disappear, and you’re living in your imagination. 

It’s only a guess, but I bet it’s one of the reasons you fell in love with stories, too. 

The ability to create visions in your mind is incredible—it’s a gift. A blessing. Your superpower. 

When someone shames you for nerding out over a book you love, or your own story ideas, don’t take their words to heart. They don’t see what you see, and you don’t see what they do. 

So how can they be the judge of what you love, or of who you should be? 

I believe wholeheartedly your gift was not given to you by accident. There is a purpose for you in this life unlike anyone else’s.

 Embrace it. Nerd out. Be a bibliophile. Take inspiration from your favorite characters. 

You are quirky and amazing. Don’t ever forget it. 

Imagine + Dream

Several years ago I hindered my imagination. Being super busy, I stopped using my imagination because I believed it wasn’t serving me. 

It was an unhappy time. 

One day I suddenly thought, why don’t I imagine stories in the car anymore? Why don’t I make up stories after watching a movie or being inspired by history? 

Once I started again, it felt wonderful. Dust off that imagination machine in your head and let it run every day. 

We need to imagine our stories, think up cool ways to describe a blue sky, and dream of how we want our lives to look like in the future. 

I’ve learned from observation and personal experience, that when writers stifle their imaginations and words, we become unhappy. 

It doesn’t mean we don’t—or can’t—find contentment in other interests, but when we don’t let our creative side flow, it hurts our hearts + minds. 

We don’t feel quite right, and we often don’t realize it until we start writing. 

So the next time you feel low, imagine + write. See if it makes a different. 

Write What Your Heart Loves 

To write from your heart is writing what you love…duh. 

Yes, this is a reiteration of our main topic, but I believe writing what you love deserves a special section. 

I’ve made the mistake—and am tempted to make the mistake everyday—to write in topics, genres, or using certain writing styles not because I love them, but because they are popular. 

I do it in blogposts, I do it when thinking about the next story I should write, I do it making videos for social media. It’s easy to fall in line, and copy what others have proven to work. 

But as I was reminded the other day, no one can do what you do. 

Which also means we can’t do what another person is doing, either. 

It hurts to forge our own path, but if we let the passion we have for projects guide us, I believe the effect will be worth the growing pains. 

We will be happier. 

We will write better. 

And we will be focused on writing not for prestige or recognition, but for the love of the craft. 

In doing so, we will make a difference in people’s lives. 

Feel Incompetent? We all do.

Do you ever feel like you don’t write well? Do you fear not being enough? What about failing at whatever you try? 

You are not alone. 

Every writer I have talked to on a deep level has felt the same to some degree. This isn’t just a writer thing; it’s a life fact. 

There will always be times when we feel incompetent, or feel like we’re frauds and fakes. 

The truth of what we feel is discomfort. When those doubts creep in, it means we are breaking through boundaries we have never breached before. 

The yucky feeling is actually a sign that we are doing some amazing things. 

Sure, we could always do better. We do make mistakes, and maybe sometimes we’re not cut out for the job—yet. 

But we learn from trying, and if we’re writing and stepping into a new world of stories we’re going to feel unsure. 

What we can do to cope is to remember we feel these feelings because we are growing. You are doing a great job. Keep going. 

If you relate to this topic, continue reading with this post: 

• “What the Yucky Feeling of Incompetence is Saying, Writer”

---

---

Find Community + Support

I talk about community + support in many posts because it is so important. 

For a long time I believed community was optional. Sure, it would help, but I could write just fine by myself. 

I wasn’t entirely wrong; we can write by ourselves. Writing is a solitary act, after all. In fact, I finished the first and second drafts of my first novel by myself. 

But writing the third draft of my thriller novel went quicker because I had a writing friend to keep me accountable and encouraging me to keep going. 

It was so much easier—for both of us—to write with support. 

(Getting positive feedback on our writing didn’t hinder the self-esteem either.)

Whether your support is one writer or a thousand, value them. Nurture the relationship, and give as much as you receive, because it makes the experience that much better. 

We can write by ourselves, but why when we don’t have to? 

Having a community also means when we don’t write from our hearts, they can call us out on it. Sometimes our friends know our authentic self better than we do.

Why You Write From Your Heart

Structure your schedule to allow time for writing, and every time you sit down at you keyword, paper, or typewriter, remind yourself to write from your heart, and what that means to you. 

What we care about—well, why we care about it—gives us a reason to write when writer’s block hits. It gives us a reason to write when life is tough and all we want to do is binge Netflix. 

Write it on a sticky note and put it on your bathroom mirror, or write it on your arm (like me). Do whatever it takes to remember to write from the heart. 

The Mind to Heart Transformation

When we write from the heart we won’t just write books, but we’ll write great books. 

Our novels will mean something to us and to our readers. They will reach the depths of someone and touch their heart. 

As William Wordsworth said,

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” 

We need to show what’s inside of us—especially when it’s scary—because only then will we make a difference with our words. 

Tell your story, 

Sarah