On Tuesday night, I went to a storytellers workshop at the Gangplank collaborative space in Chandler, Arizona. I decided to come to this workshop to learn how to become a better writer. The first topic was about writing as social objects and to be perfectly honest I nearly walked out because I had no idea what they were talking about. Most of my writing recounts events in my life, how I felt about it, or what I learned whether it resulted in success or failure. Thankfully, Tyler Hurst who was facilitating, explained the idea of social object when he posed questions to the various people around the table. I sort of felt like the kid who didn’t do the homework, hoping the teacher wouldn’t call on me for my opinion. Needless to say I survived and I grew a little from the experience, since I learned there is structure to good story telling.

The next question was, “Is writing selfish or non-selfish”. Hmmmm, good question, it has to be a selfish, I’m holding you hostage, ummm I mean, captive until you get bored with my ramblings and turn your attention elsewhere.

I am not a trained writer, it wasn’t a life long dream for me to publish my diary for all the world to see. I never wanted to write a book or a screenplay because that takes real writing talent. I share my innermost thoughts through writing because I feel like I can be myself without worry of judgement or getting hurt from behind the shield of my computer screen. When you’re having heart to heart in person you immediately feel the impact of being judged or criticized, your insecurities climb to the surface and prevent you from truly expressing yourself. You have that voice in your head that says, “What if I say something stupid? What if they don’t like me?” In writing, you can edit what you’re saying so that everything comes out brilliant (wishful). Unless you write a comment on my blog, I have no idea what you think of me. I write in a bubble so I can get my thoughts out before any self-doubt has a chance to interfere with expression. Do I prefer that? Not sure…I believe face to face conversations create a deeper bond with people if you can get past superficial questions. The problem is that we don’t have the luxury to sit around for hours to gain each other’s trust enough to bare our innermost secrets.

How do you best communicate your thoughts and feelings? Comment with your answers.