Reading (& Writing) to Cultivate Compassion

It’s widely acknowledged that reading can help us cultivate compassion. Reading allows us to journey through different lives, experiences, and emotions, fostering empathy and understanding. It unveils the realities of diverse cultures and experiences, promoting compassion by challenging our prejudices and expanding our worldview.

It was quite by accident that I discovered that writing also can cultivate compassion.

One of the characters in my novel-in-progress is especially unlikeable. I do not share his beliefs, values, or attitudes. Okay … honestly … I hated him.

Reluctant to know what must go on inside someone’s head and heart to make him such a horrible person, I wrote him badly. He showed up in my story as a one-dimensional stereotype. That would never do! I needed a fully ‘fleshed-out,’ complex, believable character.

I tried journaling about him, resulting in nothing but lists of his despicable character traits. One frustrating morning, perusing one such list, I screamed in my head, “WHY? Why are you the way you are, Jerome Dewitt?”

Then it hit me: why not ask him? So I did.

That was the first time I “interviewed” one of my characters. Of course, I was writing both sides of the exchange, but doing it in this way made him less intimidating. Surprisingly, getting to know him through that interview, written out on the page, shifted my feelings for him significantly.

When writing fiction, we dive deep into the motivations, trials, and triumphs of our characters, creating a powerful medium for empathy. In creating these diverse narratives, we begin to understand our shared humanity and the universal experiences that bind us.

Similarly, journaling and writing memoir help us articulate and process our understanding of human nature, enhancing our ability to empathize with others and foster self-awareness, key ingredients to compassion.

PROMPT (for fiction writers): Pick an antagonist from a story you're working on or planning. Write a backstory for them, exploring the experiences that shaped them. How does understanding their past make them more complex and human?

PROMPT (for memoirists and journalers): Write a short memoir-style piece or journal entry about a time when you struggled to feel compassionate towards someone. Reflect on how writing about this experience might help you cultivate more compassion in the future.