Editorial: Passion in your prose

When I was younger, I was always embarrassed about writing. I never told people that I wrote, and God forbid if they did found out they and they asked to see it. Even now I get nervous over the idea of someone reading what I write. Which seems stupid, given the things Iāve had published.
Even now, thereās only one person who gets to see my writing in its first draft, and thatās my sister. But weāre so close I hardly count her as a person different from me.
Because of this, my conditions required for writing are short. I need to be alone. Alone, with no one to read over my shoulder. A blanket, in case I need to cocoon myself if things get too emotional, and absolute silence. The slightest thing can distract me and then Iām in a million other places other than my writing.
But Iām not this high-maintenance because Iām a bad writer, without a care of how conceited I sound, Iām actually fairly good at what I do.
A lot of this has to do with how much of myself I put into my writing. I treat a lot of my editorials like a diary page, where I can lay out all my concerns in a neat and concise manner.
Thereās something extremely cathartic about perfecting your emotions.
Take in to account some of my personal stories. Iāve publicly discussed my struggles with having an eating disorder, Iāve talked about how much I loathe wearing bras. Iāll even have a poem in Blueprint that explores a personal subject.
Last year, when I was a News Editor, I found myself struggling at times with my stories. Not because they were cumbersome, but because I lacked an emotional attachment to some of the content. For me, writing is all about emotion. There isnāt a mountain in life I havenāt climbed without writing about it. Because most of my work is seated in deep emotions, I have a tendency to come off as an extremely sentimental person.
Thereās a rule I follow for all of my writing, whether itās thank-you cards or editorials:
āDonāt say in a letter what you can in an ear.ā
I find the best writing comes from the feelings you canāt articulate, or donāt feel comfortable saying out loud.
Even now, I have trouble talking about my eating disorder, but writing about it is actually the only easy aspect of it. This isnāt news. Putting difficult emotions into any form of artwork is a tried and true form of therapy.
Sentimentality in writing isnāt for everyone. But Iāve found my style and itās extremely sappy. Which is great, because once youāve met me youāll realize that this isnāt who I am in conversation.
If you find yourself unable to articulate what youāve been bottling up inside, thatās fine. An easy fix may be to pick up a pen and help yourself sort through the mess.