Write it. Don't show it.

As a fundamental principle in Five Element Writing you don't show to others what you have written. Not even to a trusted friend, spouse or lover. What you write is entirely your own. Always.

The reason is that you write to understand. Not to publish. You have one single goal, and that's to develop your voice, and it grows naturally out of the process of understanding.

Rewriting is okay

That doesn't mean you can't share it with anyone. You can. You just can't show them your actual writing, but nothing holds us back from talking to others about it.

You are also more than welcome to rewrite your text with the purpose of sharing it with others. That's perfectly okay. It's the route to publishing, and if you think your writing is good enough for it, then nothing should stop you.

Still, the whole point of the concept begins with writing to understand, and that's a process that must be left alone for it to work. Otherwise, you dilute it.

The iceberg effect

Keeping it a secret creates the iceberg effect. Meaning, there are nine times more underneath the surface than what people see. The solidity of that, and the mystery of what might be underneath, is what eventually attracts people to our voice.

You need a secret space to develop that effect and the voice that follows. That's when it clicks into place. That's when you become the writer you are meant to be.