Write as if Nobody will Read It

By georgelthomas on 22 Nov 2017 • ( 2 )

Writing as though nobody will ever read your work can be a difficult task to master. It involves opening yourself up, lowering your guard and allowing all of the emotions and memories you keep locked privately in your head to trickle down your arm and out onto the page.

When we write for ourselves, say, in a journal, for example, we generally write without a filter because we know that nobody will ever see it. We can be as honest about our thoughts and feelings and as forthcoming with information as we choose.

However, writing something that we intend to show to other people can sometimes mean the opposite; our guard can go up and, subconsciously or otherwise, we try to make sure that our personality is clean and polished to a nice, bright shine while plastering a big metaphorical smile on the face of our work. In other words, we lie, and we do it because we fear rejection.

We pretend to be what we’re not because we think the world wants to read nice, pleasant stories, which, of course, is true, but the world also wants honest, frank and genuine stories, no matter how dark or gritty.

The problem with writing through a filter is that ‘you’ as the writer don’t come through on the page. Sure, a ‘version’ of you does, but the reader isn’t getting to know you through your work. If everything is all Stepford Wife-like and false in your writing, then it probably won’t leave an impression.

Writing is supposed to give something of the writer to the reader, even if it’s just a slight glimpse into the writer’s mind. At the very least, a reader should be able to pick up on the writer’s point of view or opinion and compare it to their own.

A good way of practising how to write unfiltered and like nobody will ever read your work is to think about something of which you feel strongly and uncage your mind and emotions and just write about it. Tell yourself that its only for you, that nobody is going to see it.

It’s hard, but with practice, it will get easier, and in time you’ll feel freer for it. The more honest you are in your writing, the better chance you will have of readers being able to connect with you on a more personal level than if you had watered your work down with self-editing.

As always, thank you very much for reading if you did. I do appreciate it!

Until next time,

George