Write Your Heart Out explores how to turn personal experiences, ideas and emotions into stories, essays, poems and memoirs. In a clear, insightful voice, Rebecca McClanahan teaches readers how to mine and shape personal material, urging them to write deeply, honestly and imaginatively about the most important people, events and emotions in their lives. She emphasizes the importance of personal writing as both catharsis and discovery, addressing such topics * Writing about the past * Writing about, and from, strong emotions * Writing to communicate with family and friends * Writing about work, goals and interests Moving from the private to the public, the book's structure is formulated to guide readers in writing personal, heartfelt works that can, if so desired, culminate in publication.