Writing

Are You Writing With Authenticity

How To Tell The Same Story Differently

Even twins don’t always see things exactly the same. Take a closer inspection of the cover photo. Where one sees the hulking lion as a wonderous beast, she longs to reach out and touch, the other cringes behind her staring in trepidation and perhaps even fear.

I suggest it’s the same story but being told from a pair of different perspectives.

Writers are much the same. Thousands of us are writing different topics, and many of us are providing our perspectives often on the same subject. It’s no secret everything that could possibly be written about has already been written and not just once.

“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely, but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.” — Mark Twain

I believe what Mark was telling us is, as a writer, we frequently discuss the same stories, but we just do it differently. The differently part is where I believe authenticity comes into play.

Keep in mind, authentic isn’t the same as unique. Unique implies one of a kind, unlike anybody or anything else. And as Mr. Twain said, there’s no such thing as a new idea.

Think of being authentic as remaining true to yourself, all the while living with conviction and confidence. Being authentic means representing the true essence of one’s real beliefs and honestly and with integrity representing one’s true self.

As one who presents themselves to their reading audience with words, a writer has a choice. They can either hide behind their words and provide a constant litany of charades, or they can present their authenticity with their words.

Not an easy task, especially for a beginning writer. In the beginning, a new writer is experimenting on just how to tell a story. Most times they’re terribly unsure of what they want to say and how they want to say it. Often times, they’re afraid of providing thoughts on a topic simply because they believe it’s already been done a million times before.

When they do write, they often hide behind the words. Yes, they put something out there, but it was more of an exercise in learning to glue paragraphs together rather than what they were actually thinking or believing at the time.

To a fledgling writer, this feeling of uncertainty can be overwhelming and daunting. They often think they can’t or shouldn’t provide their take on something that’s been done before. They feel what they write needs to be new and fresh and well, unique.

A lot of veteran writers know that just ain’t going to happen. Everything under the sun as already been done, at least a bazillion times already.

But what separates the veteran writer from the newbie is that the veteran realizes if they’re covering the same old topic they must provide their own, authentic take on it.

A lot of times, the results are simply amazing.

As a new writer, remember to write from a place of authenticity, and the best way to do that is by telling us how you actually feel about a topic. What the subject or idea does to you when you think about it, experience it.

Finding your authenticity as a writer is by no means easy, but the only way to discover the real you, the writer you, is to write and continue to write. Eventually, that authentic voice of yours will sink into the words you write each day.

And it’s only now I feel I can pose these underlying questions to new writers who often have tendencies to hide behind their words. Only now, because I understand what it’s like to hide as well.

As a fledgling writer, do you have your own thoughts or emotions on the topic you wish to write about? If you do, then write them. Or are you writing in a vacuous state, only streaming words from your brain to the page much like a court stenographer?

The answer to these two questions may take you weeks to discover. For some years, for others, lifetimes.

If you’re new to this writing thing, I challenge you to forget about whether or not a topic has been covered ad nausea. I challenge you to put those fears of being lumped into a stereotypical cauldron of copy cat hack writers away.

The very minute you learn how to write in an authentic, honest manner, you’ll realize you can provide your own perspective, your individualistic slant on many topics capturing your interests.

So bring it using your own style, your very own voice. Bring it with passion, or humor, or pathos, but bring it with authenticity, with what you really believe and how you actually feel.

As readers, we’re all expecting that — tell us how you really feel — moment.

Thanks So Much For Reading

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© P.G. Barnett, 2020. All Rights Reserved.