At the close of the writer’s retreat I attended recently, the moderators asked us to look back over our weekend’s work and consider which pieces worked best, and why. I jotted down a few words that described my favorite essays: “family” “relationships” and “love.” Then, reconsidering, I drew a big circle around the word “love,” because it encapsulated the first two words and so much more.

It was an eye-opening moment for me. I knew that the weekend had produced the truest, most raw, least polished work I’d ever done, so it was important to note that when I was forced to write fast and from the gut, I was writing from love. It was also the word that was most often used in response to my readings: “You can really hear the love that character feels,” or “There’s so much love between them.”

I don’t often think about the core of my writing or where the words come from. If I’d had to guess before the retreat, I would have been more likely to call myself a cerebral or “thinking” writer, rather than an emotional or “expressive” one. This is how I see myself as person, as well. (After all, I have gone from being an INFJ to an INTJ over the last ten years, an indication that I’ve chosen to suppress emotion in favor of reasoned thought.) But maybe it’s time to reconsider. One of the reasons I started writing in the first place was to give myself a place to express my feelings. Even though I’m now writing more fiction than personal essay, I’m still working out my own conflicts and insecurities through my characters.

I’ve been working on getting into my characters’ heads, but maybe I should be trying to get into their hearts, instead.