Writers, Stop Hiding Behind Your Writing

I read dozens of articles a day on this platform, and often, I get the urge to reach out and take some fellow writer by the shoulders and say, Hey, dude, you don’t need to do that.

And by “that,” I mean writing in this way that tells me the writer is trying to do what they think they’re supposed to. They play it safe. They try so hard to tell me what I want to hear in the way I want to hear it, and as a result, they end up hidden behind a wall of text.

I do understand. Everyone wants so badly to make this work. Hell, I very badly want to make this work.

But here’s how I think about it. When I read, I’m looking to connect with a person. I want to understand what this other human thinks and how they feel. It’s great to get information out of the articles, but the truth is, unless I’m reading tips gained from personal experience, I can usually do a Google search and get the same information more quickly and concisely.

Fellow writer, I’m not saying that I don’t want you to educate me. I do. If you want to tell me something I may not know about the treefrogs of the Amazon rainforest, great, I’m ready for it. But I want you to tell me about it in your own voice. I want you to show me through your words what you find to be so interesting or weird or frightening about those little treefrogs.

When you let me see your passions, your thought processes, and your quirks, you let me get to know some part of you, as a persona and as a writer.

That’s what I want. That’s what I’m here for.

So tell me whatever you want to tell me, but I want to hear it from you.

Please, write as you.