Passion. Passion. Passion.
Great writing—writing that moves the reader—has at its heart ‘Passion’, passion that comes from vulnerability (Brown).
Making ourselves vulnerable, opening ourselves to possible criticism, is fraught with danger. Scary. Possibly soul destroying, at least for a moment or three. So why take the risk of puncturing the already tissue-paper thin membrane of our heart, of our mind, of our very fibre? We already know the pain and suffering of our self-flagellation (Brown), why add other people’s fuel to our flames?
Because out of those flames often comes insight and wisdom. Insight and wisdom we can use in not only our writing, our creativity whatever its format, but also in our lives. And hopefully the lives of some of our readers.
Brown, Brené. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. Penguin Life, 2016.
—. I Thought It Was Just Me (but It Isn’t): Making the Journey from What Will People Think? To I Am Enough. Gotham, 2011.