How to Make ‘I’ Contact

by Dec 18, 2017Writing Tips

One of the first rules of public speaking is to make eye contact with the audience. That’s how we connect and earn trust.

In writing, our challenge is to make ‘I’ contact.

We have to be connected in with our own story in order to connect people in to our story. Who we are and why we have written our story has to come across in our writing. That’s partly what it means to have an authentic writing voice. We create trust and credibility by speaking about real things in a real way.

 

The 7 Day Writing Challenge

WINGS: Words Inspire, Nourish and Grow the Spirit

So we have to know who we are. At the very least, writing should teach us something about ourselves. We can’t trick readers into believing we’re authentic if we’re not. Just spending time working on that will take us into a place where people will trust us – we are solid in our writing, solid in what we’re doing and saying.

Knowing who we are and what we want to say is about noticing where we are. It’s about location – in time, space, emotion and character arc (our own).

We need to locate ourselves. So, who are you? Where are you? What do you have to say? How will you say it? And how can you say it better? What do you care about? What do you really truly deeply care about? Hiding somewhere inside the answer to these questions is not only our writing voice, but sometimes our deeper sense of purpose. Worth going in there, don’t you reckon?

How to Teach Boys to Respect Girls

Before my son was born, I didn’t think it was my problem to raise good men. I’d been working with raped and battered women as a women’s rights advocate for many years, and had seen my share of sexist atrocities by men-gone-wrong. My aim was to get justice for women –...

Sometimes, People Don’t Trust Me

Sometimes, people don’t trust me. Here's why: When someone comes to me with a burning desire to write, or a story that’s wormed its way into their core, I am a cheerleader. Like the craziest, wildest, noisiest fan: ‘Go!’ ‘Keep going!’ 'You can do this! You’re almost...

I Have Not Said Enough

I work as a journalist in South Africa, a country known as the rape capital of the world. Every afternoon I switch on my computer, make sure my WiFi is working, and begin to trawl the web for news stories about criminal cases that have reached the courts. It is...

Are You Sharing or Over-Sharing?

I am by nature a sharer, and am delighted, for example, when people help themselves to food on my plate. As far as I’m concerned, few things are more enjoyable alone than in a group. I am happy to be shared with too. Tell me your secrets, your deepest desires and...

How to Touch What Is Beautiful

‘I did not survive to be untouched.’ – Mark NepoToday, my friends, is my 52nd birthday. I know, right? I don't look a day over 50.The past year has been a mix of magic and mayhem. I count among the highs my discovery of ocean swimming and the return of my writing...

People with Passion: An Interview with Van Jones

The first time I met Van Jones, we had a fight. I had just landed in the US to do a year of law at Yale, and had ventured out to my first party. I was one of the few with a weird accent and I was trying to find my people. I decided I didn’t like him and hoped I’d...

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *