What you see {or read} is what you get

{This is the second prompt in the series of BlogHer's March NaBloPoMo Challenge-- How is your writing voice like you? How does your writing voice differ from you}

I hate to sound as deep as a puddle, but what you see is what you get. Or in this case, what you read. This is it. this is all there is. Short post, huh?

I've long held the theory that there are two types of people in the world: closed books and open books.


The closed book can be the nicest person you'd ever care to meet. And you can know them for months….no years…and still only know the version of them they offer for public consumption. I don't think the Closed Book is necessarily nefarious. They just are what they are. Over the years, I've had friends who have had affairs, battled mental illness and accused someone of murder. (Yes, that's what I said.) In each instance, I was stunned.

I have a dear friend who I've know for 12 years. I love her. You'd love her. She's lovely. A few years ago we received a Christmas card from her family that was printed from Shutterfly-type company and not hand signed as it had been in years past. Printed on this card was a name other than the name I knew her by. Egads! They misprinted her name…how awful! And she sent them anyway! How odd.

Later, when I commented that I loved the photo on her card and wondered about the misprint, my friend told me that the "misprint" was actually her name. The name our friend group and most people call her is the result of her first husband having a sister with the same name. The solution: everyone began calling my friend a different name. Really? This new moniker was based on her middle name, but still…really? And how did I not know this? Or about this husband?

Don't misread me…all of this is totally NONE of my business (I suppose.) And I don't hold anything against my sweetheart of a gal pal. But, her book was closed.

I'm an open book and I think I write in much the same way. You can find out about all there is to know about me over a cup of coffee. (Or at least all the witness protection program recommends I share. No….really). Maybe I talk to much or maybe I'm just a very accurate representation of myself, but people are rarely surprised by something that pops up from my past. Maybe my life is just not all that exciting.

Keeping it candid makes me feel like I'm really engaging in a genuine exchange. I think it, I type it, then I look it over to make sure it won't hurt anyone. (Remember my rule … I try to be sweet!)