Meet writer me:
I’m one of those people that keeps my writing a secret with a few exceptions Why? Well, there are a lot of reasons.
~ I don’t want people to think I’m an insane person or delusional or both.
~ I don’t want people to ask me questions about what I’m writing because it always sounds stupid when I try to explain it. This is why query letters scare the pee out of me, though I’m slowly getting better with summarizing. It’s a process, people!
~ I just don’t want to face the questions: When are you going to be done? When are you going to be published? And then not have anything to tell them if I don’t. I don’t mind if I only end up writing for myself, but I just don’t want beady, judgey eyes looking at me through this process.
I don’t know. Some times I think I should be more open about it, but I’ve had some unpleasant reactions when I’ve decided to share, so that draws me back into my turtle shell. But then, my husband, whom I love dearly, tells people all the time what I’m doing, and really, that’s what matters. The people I love are proud of me.
Still, it’s scary to put yourself out there. Granted, I use my real name and people see this that I know in real life and that’s okay. It’s just when I have to look at someone in the eye and tell them what I’m doing face to face, it’s scary.
I know I’m rambling, but this is just something I’ve been thinking about lately.
Sharing my secret feels like my ceiling and walls all turn into this:
Granted, now that I look at that picture, it seems as if they are all baby eyes. I don’t think my walls really turn into baby eyes judging me, but you get the picture. :-P
I’m with you, Amanda! I just admitted my “writerly” side to a college roommate last month when I had to explain why I was in town (writer’s conference). But my mother-in-law seems to have told everyone she knows that her new daughter-in-law is writing a book. Definite pressure, but it also provides a little extra motivation to keep at it and prove myself.
I can definitely understand. My closest friends know that I write, but aside from them, it’s difficult to let others know that I’m a writer and share my writings with others (one of the reasons why I almost never do Teaser Tuesdays). Which is why I mostly tell people my other major: Biochemistry, and my other aspiration: being a doctor, rather than being a writer. It’s sad, though. But it does motivate me.