Writer/Reader

I came across a quote this morning that spoke to me very deeply. It was by Robert Frost:

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.
No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.

Isn't that just amazing?? And so very true... If I want to communicate something emotional to readers, then I myself need to experience that emotion. If I am not surprised, the reader won't be surprised. If I'm not joyful, the reader won't be joyful. If I don't cry as I write... then the reader won't cry as they read... That makes so much sense to me and is so in tune with my experience of writing... Robert Frost is a pretty smart guy!!!

Mind you, there are times when I don't want to write, exactly because I don't want the tears to come... because they give me a headache or something silly... I shy away from writing because it is too emotional, because it taps a deep well within me... and sometimes I just don't want to go there! I remember when I was studying at Newman, as I was writing some papers, I had the same experience. I was writing from a place of passion and that is what came across. But I need to experience that myself before I can ever hope that the reader will experience it in what I read...