DEAR HARRIETTE: As an aspiring writer, I often wonder how one truly finds their voice in writing. I had a shaky childhood where I was exposed to alcohol and drug abuse, parental cheating issues and overall poverty. I am in a better place now, but every now and then, when the topic of the past is being discussed, I find myself crying randomly. Do writers need to be completely transparent about their own personal stories? I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do that. -- Aspiring Writer
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DEAR ASPIRING WRITER: To become an excellent writer, you must learn how to tell stories in vivid detail that are founded on facts and context. You do not have to share everything you write with the public, though. You may want to start writing a journal where you explore your past and how you feel about certain things that occurred as you were growing up. Give yourself permission to go deep into those stories. Be as honest and forthright as you can so that you get to the core of your truth. Password-protect your stories so that they are safe from unwelcome eyes.
Those precious stories can remain private or be shared at some point in the future. What you will gain by writing them down now is practice at accessing the truth. You can use that same probing to write about anything, fact or fiction. Work hard to find the words to get to the core of a topic. Do whatever research is necessary to provide full context for the subject and search for words and phrases that bring the subject to life.