Growth

Way back, a few years ago, when I was still a bit naive about the world, I made a goal that one day, my writing would be good enough that I will be able to make someone cry when they read my words.

Well, I've hit that goal, but it wasn't nearly as gratifying as I thought.

I've learned a lot about it, and I'll tell you the secret to making your readers cry:

You have to cry as you write it. It's as simple as that. If the words you write ignite tears in yourself, chances are, they'll draw tears from someone else who had a similar experience to you.

I've done a lot of crying lately, and a lot of writing through those tears, and have come to regret setting that goal. When I'm reading something, and it brings me to tears, it's usually because what I'm reading reminds me of something that has made me cry in the past and continues to make me cry when I think about it too much.

When something I write brings one of my readers to tears, I suspect they're having the same experience, reliving one of their bad memories that caused them to cry. My writing is causing them to remember a bad memory. How could I have wanted that?

How could I have wanted my writing to remind people of the bad things of the world?

I should've made a goal to have my writing make them laugh, not cry. Yes, the emotion I put into my writing can be intense at times, now that I've had some extremely emotional experiences myself, but the world doesn't need more sadness, it needs happiness.

And so I continue to learn and grow.