As writers, how much should we be in touch with our feelings?

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   alekhouseposted 15 years ago

   This was written on the hub of a writer recently: "I'm in touch with my feelings – maybe a tad too much, seeing as I can write on command about them".
   
   Sort of implies that this is not a good thing....Why would this be bad?  I really don't think there's any such thing as being in touch with your feelings "too much", as long as you can exercise control over them when the situation calls for it. For a writer I think this a good thing, depending on the type and style of writing you do, of course.
   
   I'm curious, what do you all think?

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   pgrundyposted 15 years ago

   I think it depends on the topic and the writer. Sometimes when I have really intense feelings about something I put off publishing anything about it. I tend to put a lot of feeling into most of my writing, so if I'm not totally clear on what I feel and why, I hold off. I may write, but not publish until I feel ready. Especially on the internet, people will rip you to pieces on anything you put feelings into, and even on things you don't, so I don't like to make myself vulnerable to that until I'm ready to take it.
   
   Good question.

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      Leta Sposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Should you "have to take it," is the question I'd ask, actually, Pam.  Augh.
      
      It's easier, really, when writing the kind of poetry I do...hardly anyone understands it, and not many people read it, either, lol, so it winnows out a lot of 'ripping.' 

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         pgrundyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Lita, funny you should ask! I just wrote a hub about that:
         
         http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Fallacy-of-Equal-Time
         
         I do think the internet is kind of like the Wild West for writers in that feedback is immediate, sometimes intense, and unpredictable. If you aren't ready, it stings. Should I have to take it? Yes and no. Some people would say that if you have the courage of your convictions you should be willing to defend your ideas, but I don't think you owe each and every troll in cyberspace your time and consideration. I mean, they can always write their own hubs, right?
         
         I think on the positive side, the internet gives lots of writers a voice and a forum so it's more democratic than print media. On the down side, the standards are lower and it's way crazy sometimes. I think anyone who writes has to have this weird personality whereby they can be sensitive and introverted on the one hand (while writing) and not shy about telling people to screw off on the other. Once you put something out there, you're a target, like it or not. You can't take it personally.

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            Leta Sposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            I completely agree.  And you echo my thinking concerning equal time--that's a huge issue in the media and elsewhere, not to mention our very own hubpages.  I have a hub in the works (if I ever have time to finish it), about the political right of freedom of speech.  Which is not equal to screaming and brawling, ripping....and closing down forums for public discourse.
            
            What I'm saying is absolutely, there will be critics...I guess you figure that out in writing workshops, where all they do is criticize your work...it's a modus operandi.  And I usually take no issue with those of opposing views--I enjoy debate.  It's the disingenuous and those who cross the line--over and into abuse I take issue with.
            
            I must read your hub now, .

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               pgrundyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               Lita I hope you write that hub! I would love to read what you have to say on freedom of speech. I think there's a place for noisy dissent, but that place isn't a public forum designed to let anyone ask a question about an important topic. Stopping discussion isn't freedom of speech IMO, it's the opposite of freedom of speech.

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   Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

   I don't think all writers are alike, and I've found that there's often the presumption that someone who writes is "all feelings and less reason".  I think sometimes when people say "in touch with feelings" what they really mean is "always focusing on their own feelings".  We all have feelings; but I think they should be processed and turned into thoughts and then filed in the proper "mental file", because if they're not we're not operating on reason.  For me, my best writing comes from reason, logic, and planning (even to the extent that I arrange the words in a particular way).   
   
   If I want to get in touch with my feelings I know how to contact them, and if they come visit me I'll entertain them for a little while.  Ordinarily, I won't have them setting up shop in my day-to-day life and getting in my way.  I do think there's something less than ideal about focusing on one's feelings all the time.  People who spend too much time thinking about nothing but their own feelings aren't thinking about a lot of other things and are usually not thinking about the feelings of others in this world.

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      alekhouseposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      You are certainly right about all writers not being alike. And writing from the point of reason can be a good thing. The point I was making here was to use your feelings in your work appropriately; not to focus on them "all the time", but to be able to call upon them at will. I wasn't referring to an egocentric concentration on oneself. Feelings can be positive, such as feeling of love, compassion and goodwill towards others. They do not have to be about ones self; neither do they have to be turned inward. Read what emohealer has to say about feelings: http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Energy-Of-Emotions
      
      As a writer, I do not want to stifle my feelings so that, if a particular written piece calls for it, it will be within reach. Of course, if I'm writing technical stuff or articles on topics not concerned with emotions, there would be no need for this process. I think it's a matter of having control over one's emotions (feelings) so that they don't spill out at the wrong time. But, they can really serve a writer if used wisely.

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   Mishaposted 15 years ago

   I don't know, I am not a writer

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      alekhouseposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      What do you mean you're not a writer, you write hubs don't you?
      Well, then.........

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         kmackey32posted 15 years agoin reply to this

         No he doesn't write his own hubs.

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            alekhouseposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Who writes your hubs, Misha?

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      jiberishposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with Misha, I'm not a writer either. I'm more of a speaker...and I try to put it on paper.

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         alekhouseposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         You don't have to be a professional or be published, to be a writer. It may not be your career or how you make your income, but if you're writing all the time and have written a number hubs in a short amount of time and they are well written, as yours are, I would say you're a writer, at least here on hubpages, and that is who I addressed this question to.
         
         BTW, I would say 24 hubs in four weeks qualifies you. I would also say: "a writer is someone who writes, especially articles, poetry, reviews, etc."

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   ralwusposted 15 years ago

   I for one have no qualms with writing with my feelings as strong as I can. Maybe I should say passion?

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   Leta Sposted 15 years ago

   To the above:  Yep, precisely, .

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   Anti-Valentineposted 15 years ago

   I find that sometimes strong emotions actually spur me on to finish an article or a post, like a motivational boost.

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   Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

   I think a lot of people who write do it because they really believe it's important to get whatever ideas they have "out there into the mix".  I wouldn't want other people to just politely agree with whatever I say.  If everyone did that it wouldn't do much for adding a little more understanding to other people's side of things.  I think for a lot of people who write the "passion" is about trying to take part in a general attempt (on the part of everyone) to create a little more understanding between us all.  Some people use that to try to "teach" everyone else how they "ought to be thinking the right way".  I don't try to teach anyone anything.  I just figure if everyone contributes their own side to things it's all they can do to add whatever it is they think they can to the mix.  I also want to read/hear other people's side to things because I'd rather gain a little more understanding of "the big picture" than live in my own little box by myself (where everyone in the box - all one of me -  agrees with me    ).
   
   Sometimes I will use writing for a different purpose, which is to try to turn some experience I've had into something "productive" by sharing what I learned from it or trying to show what someone in that situation may be going through (in case some reader knows someone in a similar situation).

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   manlypoetrymanposted 15 years ago

   "Feelings..." help to inspire me in the writings that I enjoy the most...I don't think that I can write on something that I don't have some inclining feelings towards. However...I wish that weren't always the case...

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    \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years ago

    well now let's think about this subject.....
    i do write about my feelings, but not always..... i find having other poets readily available on here with their feelings is very conducive to encouraging me to write...
    
    sometimes of course if you were to talk about our feelings all the time it would be boring for others.....

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       alekhouseposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       I guess I was thinking more along the lines of fitting the emotion to the particular written piece; not concentrating on our own; but writing about other's feelings or the feeling that is indigenous to or evocative of a particular object or event. Maybe, a kind of connection to our own

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    Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

    alekhouse, I agree with everything you said.   That's exactly what I meant by saying, "I know how to contact them."       With some of the writing I do I very much call upon feelings I've experienced, because I've found that usually people can relate to something that is obviously authentic.   I don't happen to be someone who will write about feelings when I'm in the middle of them.  They need to be old and processed before I'll use them in writing.  (As you mentioned, there are people who only focus on their own feelings at all times - and I don't think that's the greatest thing.

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    emohealerposted 15 years ago

    Thank You alakhouse for the invite to this forum......So many have already posted very good replies to this question and I applaud all of the answers thus far.  No matter who we are or what we do, writers or otherwise, emotions are at play.  We can ignore them, suppress them, over-react with them or many other things they can put into motion. 
    It is a shame that anyone feels apologetic for being in touch with their emotions and even feeling compelled to imply that being in touch may not be a good thing.  It is unclear whether this is their belief or what they may perceive others belief to be towards them.  Either way is truly irrelevant.
    To quote myself... "celebrate the emotion itself, let it flow, it serves a purpose.  don't suppress those emotions, experience them" Fear is just another emotion that drives and determines many of our choices as writers and as human beings.  To embrace the fear and become friends with it and move forward to the emotions that vibrate and 'feel" better is really the objective.  In any profession or way of life this is true, but as a writer the possiblities of emotional expression or suppression are what we do automatically.  It is out there now in black and white and is open for review, not everyone gets such a swift and public review, mostly in the area of the arts, which writing is one.

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       alekhouseposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       I love this! You are so right on, and this is so well put

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    \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years ago

    this is a great thread.... it stirs my feelings...

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    AEvansposted 15 years ago

    I write and express what I feel , good or bad but that is only me, everyone is different.

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    Davinagirl3posted 15 years ago

    Sometimes I have to write to understand my feelings.  Writing, kind of, sorts them out for me.

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    Eaglekiwiposted 15 years ago

    Is good to be in touch with our feelings but probably more than important to be in control of them.An art I am still learning.
    Its not that we shouldnt let things flow ,but controlling that flow should help us produce a better product ,usually anyway.
    
    My dad had this amazing storytelling art, and seldom read to us ,prefering to make up his own ( we thought they were real, and the characters lived in our memories for years).To this day my younger sister still swears Mrs Pendleton has a donkey called Turbo in her yard ..his imagination could bring us to tears or stir such laughter....
    
    It funny now but my first contraversial hub ,I was not expecting some of the comments ,long winded and off some other planet ( yes naive of me) but did I feel Id turned a corner ,when the comments quit...you bet I did!

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