The urge to be open as a writer

I dabble in more than one niche as you can see, but my heart goes to writing more personal things so much so, even when I write a review on a show I want to share things about myself and why i felty for this. show

I don't know how other writers do it. I don't know how they write something that does not go into what they had for lunch, or personal trauma. I know there are different types of writers and niches, but I wonder if I am the type of writer that I want to be.

See, we've all been told to "write what we know," and that falls into the "be inspired by your life," realm. For many of my essays in high school and in college, I added a personal anecdote due to being advised to do so. It is an easy way to both inform, and add a face to the essay's topic. If it is serious, then people reading would think, "Okay, this is an actual person who has actually gone through this," and it makes people less likely to read it and not feel anything. This is what I have been told, and I never minded it. I was good at talking about my experiences with managing my time in school, or dealing with men catcalling me. It also just made me feel like I was leaving all of my feelings and thoughts on the page. Everything became my personal journal.

but, I think I have taken that far too literally and have used that too much. I cannot look at a prompt or have an idea that does not involve my own life. Sometimes this is good (if I'm writing a scary story I pull from certain monsters my eyes have conjured up that scared me as a kid), but sometimes it is annoying at best.

I have started thinking more about my digital footprint and what I want people to know about me. Now, I may not be one to outright say names or tell every little detail on something, but I do tell enough about myself. That isn't necessarily bad to me as we are all trying to connect with one another, and we are all dealing with things that must be addressed, and I'm someone who has always used writing as an escape (well, almost always), but the urge is getting to bare my soul is getting to me.

1. Am I trying to share it all for reads and comments?

2. Would that be a bad thing? I mean, the idea is to connect and to share who I am. It is also to make money from my writing because though I love it, I need to survive and I'm okay with monetizing my passsion.

3. What if I say something that someone involved didn't want me to say (which is why I not only change names, but if it involves others I typically omit them in all)

4. What if I look back and I think, "Man I have been way too vulnerable" ?

5. Is there a such thing? Ddon't I want my readers to feel for whatever I'm writing?

I think the best way to combat this is by writing informational things and not talking about myself. There are so many other people to include in my work and different examples to use.

If I do decide to write personal essays, they will ocntinue to be honest. They are my feelings and I should not shy from them. I like expressing myself and writing is one way to do so.

How much is too much to share? I think we all have a different line that we think about not crossing. For me, I would not share information on someone else's life that I know personally. Won't be telling about my sister and her life, or my mother and what she has gone through. I will only point a finger at myself. When mentioning people in my life, I will only do so when talking about their relationship with me.

Ex. "My sister is pretty happy that I'm here because we're the best of friends."

To all the writers out there: Do you feel like you're emptying everything on the table? If yes, how's that going for you? Do you do it for the views or yourself? Or both?

Thank you for reading, responding and liking this post! Peace.