Who currently knows you are a writer?

Discussion in 'General Writing' started by Hollowly, Apr 16, 2018.

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  1. MangoKate

    MangoKate New Member

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    My partner knows I like to write but has no idea how passionate I am about it.

    My mum knows I write when I’m feeling down to help me process my feelings, but beyond that, nothing. I would like to tell her but she’ll want to read my stuff before I’m finished with it and will probably get upset if I don’t show her.
    A few times when I was a teenager she looked at stuff I was writing without asking permission, that I wouldn’t have wanted to show anyone. She complimented me on it but it was still embarrassing.
    I’ll tell her once my WIP is finished and well edited.

    Nobody else in my life knows, not yet anyway. I kind of like it that way though, I don’t feel like anyone has any expectations for my writing so there’s no pressure.
     
  2. cosmic lights

    cosmic lights Contributor Contributor

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    I've always written stories so my Mum know and my step-Dad knows but that's it. And the people on here of course. But it's private to me and I love talking about writing and my book but no in person for some reason.
    I find the first thing people ask is "what's it about?" And I think well it's about a characters choices and what happens after those. It's a long complex stories and I just can't explain it to people that easily.
     
  3. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

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    My siblings do that, and when i give a brief synopsis, they say "not interested. ask mom or dad to read it" :nosleep:
     
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  4. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Pretty much everyone I know knows I like to write, but I've never labelled myself a writer and never will.
     
  5. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Plenty of people get published without having their family read their work. It's not even always helpful to have family read your work. And making someone read your work expecting praise (like with your mother) is really only good for the ego. Also, "anyways" is not a word. There is no s. It is always "anyway."
     
  6. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I tell no one.
    I hold it to my bosom, this dark fetid flower.
    This murder done long ago.
    This theft.
    This mortal sin.
    I say nothing, lest it bloom across my desk, unholy, throbbing, and rank.
    I walk among you, silent, eyes to the floor.
    I slip in and out of buildings, no one the wiser of my clickity-clack against the keys.
    I greet you with hellos and good mornings and how do you dos,
    so that you do not raise the alarm, the klaxon, the call to fingermen.

    Just kidding. I don't see the big deal. It either comes up in conversation or it doesn't. I neither force it nor hide it. It possesses no unusual quality that would make me treat it any different to the fact that I also drive a car.
     
  7. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

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    I wasn't expecting praise, I was expecting feedback. I did not say anywhere in my initial comment that i was expecting praise or an ego boost, just that I wanted someone to read my work. And, being the closest to my family and having my family as my biggest supporters, I EXPECTED support on my writing and support means critique/feedback/dialogue.

    Also, "anyways" is the informal of "anyway."
    And I use and have used both....
    The way I see it, I dont have to use the formal because this is in informal forum.
     
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  8. CerebralEcstasy

    CerebralEcstasy Active Member

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    I've put my writings out to family and one of the members here. I received way more constructive feedback from someone who actually knows what writing is all about and for that I'm eternally grateful. I haven't worked on my WIP for some time, I've been keeping a journal though for other travel related things. I'm still settling into new digs, and my new normal.

    I don't know that I am a writer, but I do know that I seem to have developed writers block it would seem. So, maybe just maybe I am a writer.
     
  9. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Do you really think your beloved family wants to crush your dreams? It doesn't sound like you handle criticism too well. Look at how you want to defend your use of "anyways" which is just wrong. But I can't imagine how you might act to a bigger piece of criticism. Actually, I can, and that's probably part of the reason your family isn't so keen of reading your stuff. And it is more of an ego boost when they are prepared or expected to say nice things. That's sort of the position family and friends are put into when an amateur writer is seeking feedback from them. You may think that's not the case, but it most likely is and I'm not just talking about you. I'm not sure expecting more of your family is really going to help you be a better writer. I would think about letting them off the hook.
     
  10. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

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    You dont know me.... I wouldnt have gotten through college, grad school, and athletics if I couldnt handle critique. I'm not on this thread for your critique, if you can call it that, I'm on this thread to share what all of these other commenters are sharing... which is who knows they are writers. There is a difference between critique and criticizing.
    Also, you know nothing of my family, so keep your assumptions to yourself.

    Of all the people on this thread who have commented on who knows they are writers, have you given them this "ego boost" spiel?

    Also, this isnt the first time you have singled me out for commenting on a thread sharing my personal experiences.
     
  11. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    All I'm saying is that friends and family aren't the best people to get critique from. Look around the forum. I'm not the first to say it. And there's a reason why which is because you can't expect them to always be honest. Not trying to single you out. And I didn't even realize I did so before. I would have made the comment to anyone. You are not the first person I've tried to correct for using "anyways." But you are complaining on a public forum, and you don't really get to pick and choose what sort of feedback you get. Nothing I've said you should take offense to. I'm just telling it how it is. You're also not the only one who reads the forum so perhaps what I say will help someone else.
     
  12. hyacinthe

    hyacinthe Banned

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    I don't hide it. People say to me, "So what do you do?" and I tell them.
     
  13. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Are you a full-time writer?

    I think if someone's making their living from writing, it'd be pretty weird to try to hide it! But for people who aren't writing for a living, it's a bit easier.
     
  14. rincewind31

    rincewind31 Active Member

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    I like to pretend I'm a full time writer, by dressing as a bohemian, and bursting into spontaneous prose mid-conversation. If that doesn't get people to ask, i'll also look pensively into the distance before whipping out a notepad and pen and writing down something meaningful.
     
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  15. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I assume you also carry your moleskin notebook with you everywhere? And make sure to do all your writing at busy cafes, smiling enigmatically in response to the frowns of patrons waiting for your table?
     
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  16. rincewind31

    rincewind31 Active Member

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    Ah a fellow full time writer I see. (smiles enigmatically)
     
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  17. hyacinthe

    hyacinthe Banned

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    Moleskine? Pheh! The paper's useless for fountain pen ink. how are you going to pretend to be a full time writer without the right gear?
     
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  18. CerebralEcstasy

    CerebralEcstasy Active Member

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    We're writers, we've made due with napkins, bits of envelope and even the odd advert. We're versatile that way. Sides who writes with fountain pen ink? Clearly, we're using blood. Preferably the blood of those who are impatient at the cafe. Or people who walk slowly in front of us...
     
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  19. hyacinthe

    hyacinthe Banned

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    blood clots the feed after only a few minutes. completely impractical! and it never stays red. Diamine Oxblood is a much better choice, especially when you consider the google search history lurking on all your devices at the moment...
     
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  20. CerebralEcstasy

    CerebralEcstasy Active Member

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    Heparin helps with the clotting, I like the brown it fades to. Makes folks wonder if it really and truly is written in blood. Not sure about your recommendation, I'll try switching when I've run out of Starbucks patrons :twisted:
     
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  21. Bobby Burrows

    Bobby Burrows Banned Contributor

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    My father, the writer, is also a keen impressionist.
    He's fond of stand up comedy and loves to impersonate them and talk about his fandom of them.
    He's also a lover of music.

    Bless him; I reached out to him recently over a recent family emergency (where news spread out around the family around the world and people flew in) just to open up a dialogue again etc.. and we were talking about stand up comedy because I asked; and he asked me; Who do I find funny? - So I told him this one comedian who's voice I had in my head when I was coming up with all this material that week that I wanted to process; I also had just before that been on a Rich Hall phase, so anyway, I told him/showed him who Rich Hall is; he then told me who he liked, one Milton Jones; I like Milton Jones too, he's okay, but, my answer was mine.
    It reminded me of the time when I fired him as my manger when I was 16 because he was trying to manage me with country and western in mind for me, and as an artist, that wasn't me (when I was 16, I wanted to be Jimi Hendrix and everybody called me Slash).. So, yeah... That was fun, and looking back, and personally thankful for his C&W direction fore it taught me a song (Ghost Riders in the Sky).. but I'm thinking, we have different sense of humours and we both appreciate good music, but back when I was 16, I was still doing my own thing, like I am now, almost 32.
     

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