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We’ve heard about ‘writing from the heart’ – but from the soul?
As a young teenager, Harold Robbins was one of my favorite authors. Everything about his writing was stark, visceral and brazen. Reading it was gut-wrenching, and often deeply disturbing.
Talent like Robbins’ is rare. And when I started writing a lot myself, it became apparent why. Writing from the heart, exploring painful or controversial themes, and doing it in a candid, open and forthright manner leaves the writer exposed.
Vulnerable.
Defenceless.
My good friend and professional writer, Becky Blanton, calls this kind of writing “getting past the gatekeeper”.
Great writing that speaks to wide audiences, and does it in an intensely personal way, requires slipping words, thoughts and feelings past that wary, watchful guard living inside your head.
That’s not easy.
Yet, it’s only that kind of writing that can hope to resonate with a reader’s emotions.
Today, by sheer accident, I stumbled onto a blog that’s crafted by a master wordsmith. And – for the first time ever in 15 years of Web surfing – I found myself engrossed in her fabulous writing… for well over an hour!
It began when I set out to help Veena get her third graders teaching aids. Through Padmaja, I came to hear about “The Alternative“ – and saw an author whose shared my niece’s name.
Curious, I explored a link back to her blog, “The Clean Slate“. One of the first posts I read was “Your Story” – and I was hooked.
Hours later, having read a bigger collection of poems, short stories, and poignantly provocative blog posts at one sitting than ever before, I wondered what lay at the root of that appeal and attraction.
Surely, other writers wield as skillful pens as Malavika. But what sets this blog apart was her seemingly effortless ability to “get past the gatekeeper”.
I’ve bookmarked the blog to return to. Learn from. And study to better my writing skills.
If you don’t have as much time as I did today, then at least make sure you read “Rites of Passage” and “Letter to Samantha“.
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