{"id":851,"date":"2022-02-04T14:39:01","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T22:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/gradwriters\/?p=851"},"modified":"2022-02-04T14:39:01","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T22:39:01","slug":"being-vulnerable-in-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/gradwriters\/2022\/02\/04\/being-vulnerable-in-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Vulnerable in Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

We live in a world, that, to put it mildly, is less than kind at times. As the days go by, we may well feel poked, prodded, or just, simply, wronged. I\u2019m sure we can all relate, I mean it\u2019s hard to go through a year, let alone a day, without something being irksome. With all these pains, worries and injustices, who wants to open<\/em> themselves to others, to be vulnerable; it may be the last thing on your list of things to do. Yet, we know great things can come from being vulnerable\u2014think of the journeys we make to foreign places, the personal conversations we find ourselves in, or, simply, the unexpected events that life throws to us; it\u2019s not all bad. In fact, how would we grow as people, as individuals, as a community, without being vulnerable to <\/em>something, someone, or the world at large (or, without some other thing being vulnerable to us?).<\/p>\n

Vulnerable Life<\/h4>\n

In our world, being vulnerable is not only part of daily life, but also part of the practice of being a writer. Being vulnerable in life is as vital as it is in being able to write well; why then do we worry about opening up, about sharing our deepest thoughts and feelings when we witness not only the pain such experiences bring, but also the positivity. You are vulnerable, I am vulnerable, together it is inescapable.<\/p>\n

Ours, however, is a society where vulnerability is wedded to a certain weakness<\/a>. Gender stereotypes and general prejudice<\/a> abound when considering the baggage that comes with being vulnerable. We don\u2019t know our teacher but we know that, if you want success, or to be a leader, you have to toughen up and close the world off: just be \u2018you\u2019, a promethean character, we are told. This \u201cfear of vulnerability\u201d<\/a> is a pathology, not just for us as social beings, but as writers; seriously, who likes writing that is closed to the world? Who is moved by writing that is ironclad, fortress-like, cold and closed?<\/p>\n

Being Vulnerable and Using vulnerability<\/h4>\n

To feel the connection between vulnerability and authenticity is not novel, nor is noticing the power vulnerability has to move people and change yourself. What makes for moving stories, for moving writing, is vulnerability to your audience. Turning towards the need to be vulnerable in writing isn\u2019t simply about being personal; it is about being open to the world as a wider life practice. While, usually, being vulnerable means we have to be \u2018deep<\/a>\u2019, it doesn\u2019t have to be; maybe being vulnerable happens in small ways, with small steps rather than deep plunges. It is time to embody the vulnerability that makes <\/em>your writing alive to the world and all that happens in it. We must start by asking ourselves, which writing is not vulnerable to us, as readers?<\/p>\n

Critically, vulnerability isn\u2019t just a useful rhetoric practice, a deployment of pathos: it is but a part of living. Here, Bren\u00e9 Brown<\/a>, distinguishes \u2018using\u2019 vulnerability and \u2018being\u2019 vulnerable; as Jane Harkness says \u201cthere is a stark difference\u201d<\/a>. The point for us, the laypeople, is that being vulnerable in<\/em> and with<\/em> our writing is about opening a space for dialogue, a space where we can write, think and be together, where we can grow, and, as Haraway says, \u201cstay with the trouble<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Being Vulnerable with Others<\/h4>\n

But how can we learn to be vulnerable in <\/em>and with <\/em>our writing? Here are some steps we can take:<\/p>\n