Granted

What do I take for granted in my writing? 

I think I often presume that my audience is perceptive to the same emotions as I am, that they worry about the same things as I do and will feel hurt by the same things. I guess all of this is a part of my culture and connection to the language I engage with. I have a connection to certain words and they arouse strong feelings in me. I forget that a lot of people aren't as open to feeling when they read or don't connect with writing in the same way that I do. I might also take for granted that people actually want to feel or interrogate these things. In sharing my writing, I hope that what is important to me is important in the lives of my readers, but it may not be. There may be more pressing issues for them than what is urgent for me and they may not be engaged in my work due to this. Sometimes I also take for granted the privilege of writing itself. I am so lucky that I have the education, the time and the passion for writing. In this way, I worry that writing can be elitist/ exclusionary to those who are not afforded the academic and socioeconomic privileges that allow me to spend so much time writing and reading. I think it's really important to always reconsider your practice and power as a writer and thus not fall into taking it for granted.