How cosy are you with the word “I”?
If you’re a writer, it’s important to get comfy with it.
Traditional journalism growled at people for using “I” in their reporting.
“The writer should be invisible!”
Then New Journalism writers came along and shocked everyone by inserting themselves into their stories—Gasp! How dare they.
We’re pretty familiar with it now.
Often online we even expect to see the writer. We want to know who this person is we’re listening to and spending our precious minutes on.
Are they someone we can trust? Are they good company? Are they honest?
Wait—are they even human?
I mean… you can’t always be sure now, right.
That’s why it’s so important to know how and when to introduce yourself to your readers.
And by that, I don’t mean pasting your bio in your intro, but giving us enough of yourself that we want to read your words.
Why are YOU the person who needs to tell this story?
Sometimes, with reported pieces especially, we don’t need to reveal much at all. Maybe just state our expertise, or show our sense of humor or intelligence in the way we present the piece.
Other times, say with personal essays, we need a lot!
Does you reader know the character behind the “I”.
Think about what aspects of yourself you need to reveal for each story:
what attitudes,
personality traits,
quirks,
background experiences,
or viewpoints?
Phillip Lopate is a master essayist and a professor. He covers this well in his chapter, “On the Necessity of Turning Yourself into a Character” in To Show and To Tell.
He says,
“The point is to begin to take inventory of yourself so that you can present that self to the reader as a specific, legible character.”
Do you need to give all of yourself away?
No way!
We’re complex. So complex.
You’ll find a slightly different “I” might emerge for each essay.
Sometimes I lean more into my academic self—my teaching background or formal training.
Sometimes I need the more vulnerable me who doesn’t have it all together!
Knowing yourself well is the first step.
What aspects of you can you use in your writing? Your humor, kindheartedness, quick wit, culture or background?
Just for fun and to get to know yourself more, here’s a personality quiz using the Big Five (I love personality psychology!)
What’s one word you’d use to describe yourself? Share in the comments.
thoughtful
Kind.