A vital part of writing is telling the whole story. What makes legendary writers so awesome is that they give us the whole cup of tea. They tell the parts that let us know that we’re not the only ones who did that, went through that, or struggled with that. As the writer, transparency is not always an easy task. You have to go back and remember. You bring up all the feelings.
Transparency requires vulnerability.
It requires that you open yourself up to being criticized, judged, and mocked. The Color Purple, for example, was met with many upturned noses. Critics felt that the book (and film) failed to examine class, that it portrayed Black men to be brutal, and depicted Black people as a whole to be perverse and irresponsible. Zora was criticized as well, many times by her own colleagues.
I have to remind myself of that constantly. I’m in good company whenever I choose transparency. I’m walking in my purpose. I’m using my story–whether fiction or non–to make a difference. And I’ve been challenged on that. Now that I recognize it that way, I’m so appreciative.
Part of my #ReclaimRebel challenge is to make daily posts to FB and IG. It’s easy to post when I just stocked up at Whole Foods, snacked on grapes, and lunched on hummus. On the other hand, when I’ve been nibbling on goldfish all day and dining on greasy goodness, then you’ll notice that my post get a little…generic. A little modified.
Today is Day 6. It’s the last day of transition. Tomorrow I fast. I woke up wondering how the hell I should go about the day; how to prepare; what I should eat; what I should share. I decided to advise myself exactly what I tell an aspiring author: write. I started writing like my life depended on it. Writing taught me that truth is transparency.
Being honest and vulnerable are both components of transparency. You can choose whether or not to share your truth. Should you decide to share, then you are charged with the responsibility of telling the whole story. If you’re finding it difficult to get the story down, then ask yourself if you’re ready to be transparent. If not, it’s okay. It just means that just as I had to transition into 31 days of produce and no meat, you may have to transition into the writing process and I can help you with that.
Transparency is important for you (the writer) and to the reader as well. It’s the only way that change can take place. That gaps can be revealed. That solutions can be conjured. That aha! moments can be achieved. Thank God for Alice’s courage because I needed to know that Celie had to be told where her “button” was, that she was physically attracted to another woman, and that Shug Avery still needed her daddy’s approval.
I’m currently reading Abiola Abram‘s The Sacred Bombshell Handbook of Self-Love. In it, she admits to settling, making excuses, emotional eating, pretending, and even being slapped off of a stool in the middle of a bar. If that ain’t about as open and honest as it gets. Reading it doesn’t make me flinch, though. It doesn’t make me turn up my nose or think of her any less. It makes me relate. Though I’ve never been physically slapped off of a stool, I have been emotionally backhanded a few times. In relating, I want to know more about her. I want to follow her and read whatever she drops next. That’s what your story is supposed to do.