I think every writer or aspiring writer would want to know how to write from the heart to the heart. I think that’s the right question to answer from what we really want to do as writers of any sort is to play at the heart strings.
You could be writing a joke, or a story, or a novel, or whatever it is, you really want to touch the reader deep within their hearts and stir some emotions, which makes them remember you, and the story you told.
This is not about the technicalities of writing like the grammar or sentence structure, for which you would find other sources on the internet. We are trying to understand how to invoke emotions in writing.
How can we write so well, that people remember what we said, and come back to read what we have written, and more of our writing?
That’s a question worthy of exploring. Everything that I write here is meant for a dialogue, please write in your comments about how you feel about the tips and points mentioned here about how to write well, and how to write from the heart to the heart. I would appreciate every comment and suggestion, because just like you, I am also trying to improve and get better as a writer.
How to write from the heart from the heart of the reader:
1. Be authentic to write from the heart to the heart
Whatever it is that you are writing, the reader wants to understand your point of view. For example, if you are writing copy for an ad, the copy should reflect the brand tonality and personality. Every brand has a personality. The reader or the consumer would like to hear from the brand in its authenticity.
Even when you are writing fiction, you will end up interspersing your personality in different characters.
“All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.”
― Federico Fellini
We must add that all art that connects with the reader because of its authenticity is autobiographical.
If you write stuff that you don’t feel inside of you, in your blood, the reader will feel it.
Your writing needs to present your personality, your voice, your tone to the reader. What are you trying to say really from your heart? Who are you?
Those are the questions the reader is trying to understand when they read your work, or listen to it, considering it’s the world of the audiobook now.
Be authentic- be completely truly yourself. That’s the first rule of writing well.
2. Think of the reader’s life- why should they care
In order to write from the heart to the reader’s heart, you want to say something that means something to them. Why should the reader care? They would care if you say something meaningful about their lives.
Although each life story is different, there are themes that are similar across human life:
Some of the similar themes are happiness, pain, passion, money etc., which affect people’s lives across the world, no matter where they live.
If you want your reader to care about what you are saying, you want to talk about something they are interested in and not necessarily something you are interested in only.
That’s where relatability comes from. You want your readers to relate to the content you are creating, and they would only do it if the subject you are writing about has some meaning in their lives.
3. Be emotive to write from the heart to the heart
In the corporate world especially, “don’t be emotional,” is a common suggestion. The rationale is that corporate life is about numbers- revenues, profits, cash flows etc. They don’t want you to be emotional, which is quite an absurdity because after all, no matter where we are, we are emotional being.
Whatever we are feeling, is an emotion. Joy, pain, happiness, anger, guilt- all of these are emotions. Therefore, when you are trying to stir up the reader and make them involved with you, what you are essentially trying to do, is to make them feel something, and take an action basis that emotion.
That’s what marketing does as well- stir up emotions in the minds of consumers so that they are emotionally driven to take a certain decision.
If you wish to write from the heart to the heart, be emotive, instead of being descriptive about what you are saying. For example, if you are talking about a new dress that you have launched, talk about how it would make the reader feel, like feeling new or happy, instead of talking about the intricacies of the design which the reader may not care enough about.
4. Write like you are talking to a friend
When you talk to a friend, you are kind and friendly. You want to help them- make them feel better, happier, if you will. The difference between writing and talking to your friend is that you don’t have a friend in front of you, but you still want to reach out to the reader, who is a human being with complex life problems, reading you, hoping to find some answers.
So, write like you are talking to that human being, who is your friend and that friend needs help. That means you want to be kind in your tonality, and respectful in your choice of language.
When you are writing prose especially, you have the ability to talk in a conversational manner. Even when you are writing poetry instead of prose, you must keep the reader in mind and write to make them feel better, nicer, happier.
What’s the point of doing anything in life, if it doesn’t make the world a better place? That’s the purpose of your writing as well- to make your reader feel better and happier. If you want to write from your heart to their heart, write like you are talking to a friend.
5. Be vulnerable, be real to write from the heart to the heart
Be true in your feelings and expression when you are writing. Do not fake anything. Do not write stuff that you don’t mean. Share how you feel and be as intense as possible. The problem with life is that it’s not intense enough and most people live on the shallow surface of life, and never really delve deep into the deep recesses of their emotions.
Take people on a journey to the deep recesses of their emotions and make them feel true depth. In order to do that, be vulnerable and real in your writing. Your readers should feel that they are reading a writer who is honest and real with his/her feelings, and that would make them feel connected to you.
6. Write when you are happy, and write when you are sad
Write when you are happy, because when you are happy, your mind is in a state of joy and you will write something that is likely to make your readers feel your joy. They would feel that you are writing from your heart, and they will share your joy with you.
Write when you are in pain, as well. When we are in pain, we are quite vulnerable. Although it’s not easy to write when you are pain, you should make the attempt to do so, because essentially, you are sharing your pain with people. When we share our painful feelings, people open up to us, because for most of us, life indeed is a rollercoaster. Everyone experiences pain, and you sharing your pain, makes your readers connect with a real human being.
7. Write with honesty to reach your readers’ hearts
I do feel that the point we have through this article is about being true to yourself, and being honest. Honesty is important because a lot of the world is fake, and we do not know who and what to trust. If you are honest with your readers, they would come back to you because they know that here is someone who is honest with them about their feelings, and they would slowly learn to trust you.
Write with honesty, and live with honesty.
In Conclusion
I do think this is more of a starter list, than a comprehensive set of notes on how to write from the heart to reach the hearts of your readers. So, please comment in what you think we should do as writers to reach the hearts of our readers. So, we are able to make the positive impact we seek to make in the world, through our writing.
Why do I write this happiness blog?
The purpose of this blog is to help you find your happiness. Please read the other posts on the blog, and follow so that you get updates when new posts are published. Please share the post with your friends so that they can also find their happiness. If you have any feedback for me, please leave it in the comments and I would be happy to work on it. If you would like to support my writing and this blog, you may please send a donation through PayPal here.
I appreciate the time you spent in reading the blog and wish you happiness.
Love,
Amarvani
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