“Four Qualities of Authentic Writing”
By: Melanie Faith
I read 99 books for fun in 2019. If you’re an avid reader, too, you probably identify with the joys of reading when the minutes dissolve and the pages just keep turning and turning. Conversely, you probably also recall books that plodded so sloth-slowly that you kept counting the number of pages left to the end of the chapter.
As writers, we want our work to have all of the former’s pizzazz and none of the latter’s plodding.
What makes the difference between writing that flows and excites readers compared to writing that falls flat and bores? Authenticity, my friend.
Just like making friends is all about connection, so too writing that resonates creates a bond between author, writing, and reader/audience.
While defining authenticity within prose can be a little bit like getting gelatin to stick to a wall, there are still definite patterns to authentic writing. We can apply these qualities as a litmus test to gauge the authenticity in our own drafts:
Authentic writing includes imagery that makes the personal universal.
We all have many emotions and experiences. Boring writing tells us explicitly the name of the emotion, such as “He felt happy” or “I was mad.” Vibrant writing, on the other hand, suggests those emotions and experiences with specific visual images or symbols that express ideas subtly.
Many authors, for instance, use color imagery numerous times within a scene to underscore feelings or experiences, such as blue for sadness, green for security or growth, and red for passion or anger. While we are all individuals, we’re not as individualistic as we might at first think.
As Henri Nouwen and psychologist Carl R. Rogers once said, “What is most personal is most universal.” Authentic writing capitalizes on this knowledge to demonstrate our collective joys, struggles, shame, and healing.
Authentic writing tends to be understated, rather than overstated.
Ever read a paragraph that was over a page long? What was the result? Probably skimming over or through the paragraph and yawning. Lots of yawning. Rambling writing is the equivalent of the new friend at a party who expounds about everything at great length while listeners look longingly for the nearest exit.
Authentic writing doesn’t meander. It doesn’t cram everything but the kitchen sink into the paragraph or page, either. Instead, it has a theme and a point it wants to communicate to readers and omits details that are off-topic or redundant.
Authentic writing writes through, and not around, a subject. We’ve all read through paragraph after paragraph to get to the big revelation of an article or chapter or novel, only to have the author back away from the topic or to take a left-turn after barely any revelation at all. Talk about frustrating! Evasions don’t tend to endear people to each other, whether in person or on the page. Authentic writing includes elements of bravery.
Authentic writing risks something on the page. Authentic writing doesn’t hint at bigger analysis ahead and then offer the reader little or no fleshing out afterwards. Yes, there are many topics that are terribly scary to express and which take great courage to share with readers, whether through a character’s POV or our own.
On the other hand, risk earns readers’ respect; even if they don’t always love what the author writes, they find deflection and barriers worse. One reason readers read is to find connection (“I’ve thought that/done that, too!”); abruptly backing away from a topic or theme you’ve set up is a fast way to alienate readers and friends alike.
Authentic writing has focus and a take-away without cliché or overly-easy advice or
solutions.
Authentic writing conveys a point without hammering it out by being repetitious. Readers tend to find repetitious writing boring or, worse, self-righteous and sanctimonious; authentic writing, on the other hand, subtly provides a purpose or a take-away and then moves on swiftly for the reader to think further about the topic on their own.
Trust your reader to make personal meaning based on the literary devices you’ve skillfully crafted and move on, to keep the pace popping.
Practice more authentic writing in my online class, beginning Friday, March 13th. Sign-up today!
