Putting oneself in the reader's place sounds easy. It's not. This is not just a mental process, but is also emotional and spiritual.

For example, how does it feel to live in a city that might face disaster at any moment? How do the residents feel about disaster? What are their concerns, barriers to action, and beliefs about their future? How does a writer truly understand in order to engage, inform and inspire action?

These are the kinds of questions to be mindful of when writing with a purpose.

You don't have to be psychic. But you do have to be aware and tuned in to others in a genuine and heartfelt way. I could never write about cigarettes, for example, because I cannot put myself in a smoker's place, mentally or emotionally or spiritually. But earthquakes, sporting goods, planes, cell phones, contact lenses, vitamins, real estate, restaurants . . . I've been there and I can relate on many levels. My writing empathizes, which is essential to connecting and communicating.

© Miller McMillan