✍️ WHEN HONESTY HITS: WRITING THAT TRULY CONNECTS
By Kellie Nissen
Author Coach & Self-Publication Mentor
Founder of Just Right Words
💡 READERS DON’T WANT POLISH. THEY WANT YOU
Have you ever been reading a book and suddenly stopped and thought, Yes – that’s me! That’s exactly how I feel?
I hope you have, because everyone deserves a moment like that – the chance to see themselves in a book and to feel truly seen.
This type of connection is what every author strives for. It’s like a special kind of magic that only books can conjure.
So … how do we achieve that as writers?
Here are three core tips — the bones of ‘write to connect 101’.
1️⃣ FORGET PERFECTION — IT’S ALL ABOUT HONESTY
At school and in adult writing classes, we’re often taught: clean, crisp, controlled. And formula. Forget that.
Readers of personal narrative and memoir want raw.
They want messy, uncertain moments.
They want to feel your bravery at putting it on the page.
✨ Connection lives in the cracks.
2️⃣ BE BRAVE — SAY THE HARD THINGS
If you want to connect, you have to say the hard things.
Share the memories that still sting.
Admit the fear and own it.
That act of being vulnerable doesn’t just build trust — it opens the door and lets your readers step inside and walk with you.
3️⃣ ANCHOR EMOTION WITH THE SENSES
You’re not just telling your story — you’re showing it.
Readers don’t care about the neat details or chronology; they want to feel what you felt.
The roughness of the chipped mug you held.
The uncomfortable way the silence stretched.
The smell of eucalyptus on a rainy afternoon.
This is more than description — it’s an invitation into your world. A chance for the reader to think: Me too.
🌸 AND THEN? LET GO …
Powerful writing dares to be real.
Within honesty, something beautiful happens. Your story is no longer mere words on a page. It’s truth — and it stays.
Our Yeah the Girls book series has 30 wonderful women sharing their stories in powerful ways.
I am so proud of them — for being brave, for saying yes, for owning their truth.
And here’s the good news — there are still places available if you want to take that step too.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou
By Kellie Nissen
Author Coach & Self-Publication Mentor
Founder of Just Right Words
