Write from your heart or write from your brain?
We’ve all heard people tell us to follow our hearts; others instruct us not to follow but to lead them. Which is correct and how does it pertain to writing?
I’m going to strike a balance halfway. As an over-thinker, I tend to let my brain go hog wild, sucking the heart—the passionate, emotional, fun stuff—out of things, including writing. But on the other hand, we don’t want our hearts to get so involved that we don’t properly research and present our facts with logic. There is a balance that will allow us to write from our hearts and our brains.
So what does this look like?
Listen to Your Heart…
Let your heart be heard over the clamor of your thoughts.”
Life is more colorful when we don’t let our logical brains completely take over and stop us from having fun. And in writing, heart connects us to our audience.
When we write something without heart, with just the facts, it ends up dry and stiff. It can look like we don’t care what we’re writing about. This must change, even if the topic we’re touching on bores us to death.
How do we put heart into something we don’t even care about? We care about the reader. That’s where we put our care; that’s who gets our hearts.
Who would want to read the rest of this paper?
Pottery makers follow many steps in their work. One that should be noted is the use of the wheel. The potter spins the wheel, and at the same time, he takes a lump of clay and fashions it into a pot or mug. Sometimes the piece collapses or he smashes it down if it’s not turning out right and starts over. When he is satisfied with it, the potter stops the wheel, removes the piece, and continues to the next phase.
This is dry and sounds like the writer doesn’t care about the subject and probably just checked a Youtube video of someone making a pot.
Compare it to this:
Potters follow an amazing series of steps to produce their work. The most complex is the potter’s wheel. Quickly, more quickly than you’d think possible, the potter spins the wheel, guiding the wet clay into a tall, wobbling tower with his hands. For a second, it seems suspended, like it can’t make up its mind whether or not it will collapse. After a breathless moment, it stabilizes.
Now the potter begins crafting detail into the work—grooves, handles, wave patterns—all while the wheel rotates rapidly on. He works speedily and carefully, his hands accustomed to the movements but not hasty in their efforts.
When he is satisfied with his creation, the potter slowly ends the rotation. An item now rests on the wheel’s surface where just minutes before sat a soggy lump of clay. The potter scoops it onto a tray and carries it to the shelf where it awaits the next stage: baking.
Not only did the writer have fun painting a word picture that allows us to see and feel what the process entails, but it also sounds like she is actually interested in the art of pottery making. Is she? We don’t know for sure. But we do know she cares enough about the reader to put effort and heart into her description.
When we don’t put heart into our work, the reader will feel it. He will pick up on (even subconsciously) the lack of effort to make something interesting or dress it up nicely. But if we as writers focus our attention on how we can please our audience, we’ll be a lot closer to actually doing it, regardless of the topic.
…Just Don’t Let It Run Away With You
While heart is important, we can’t forget the facts. We must still produce a solid piece, not one that is ruled by emotions or colorful language. These things enhance a work, but they aren’t its skeletal structure. The core of a work should be factual and solid. Then we can take those facts and use our hearts—our unique perspectives and care—and fashion them into something amazing.
We must avoid I feel like/I believe/I think phrases. These statements should never appear in educational, academic, instructional writing, or in nonfiction of any kind. They sound like a teenage girl sighing to her friends about her beau or her makeup, and they weaken our work. When we leave them out, we sound like we know our stuff.
The balance between heart and brain in writing might be hard to find at first, but when we realize that knowledge, research, and logic are the foundation and that passion, care, and effort are the décor, we’ll go far.
{Put your name and email in the sidebar on the right for my free weekly e-newsletter! Join our group today and also receive your free ebook, Bust Writer’s Block!}
Leave a Reply