When you risk yourself, you care about the outcome. You're talking to people you care about. You're telling them in metaphors that you have devised about you, about what you think, what you believe, why you are who you are. You want them to understand your work, because if they can understand your work, they will understand you. It's apologia, confessional, world's longest monologue disguised in a pretty coat, but it's also story at its heart, the storyteller laying bare his soul, his life experiences, in search of meaning not only for his audience but for himself.
Writing is touted as a lonely business.
It doesn't have to be. Find the people you're writing for, bring them into the writing process, show them your heart. Give them a little bit of you. This site created, maintained, and attended by Holly Lisle. All rights reserved.