Hello Everyone! I'm brand new here and new to writing for an audience. I'm a mid30s female with two little at home and run my own online education coaching business. Since high school I've wanted to write "professionally." but I never felt good enough. School teaches us to put the words on the page perfectly the first time, but real writing isn't like that. Once I became an elementary writing teacher and developed my skills with an inspiring class, I realized that good writing takes practice, endless revision, and commitment. I never would have learned this without a special class of crazy students who I taught to write better and reflect more than I probably every will. I'm here to learn, to practice, push myself, and maybe - eventually- publish. Being here is a comfort challenge for me. I'm new and inexperienced, so I worry that I won't be able to add much value yet: I've been reading over posts without responding. Today I'm putting my fear behind me and jumping in. I have one concern that's holding me back. I want to write children's books AND erotica. (To be clear, NOT combined!) I'm terrified that my erotica passion will be discovered, even under a pen name, and it will destroy my business reputation as an education coach. I work with the "crazies," the kids who are probably going to drop out, and I focus on inspiring them to success outside of the school system. That being said, I'd like to think that even if I'm discovered as an erotica writer, it wouldn't affect my business. I'd love your thoughts, especially if you have dual or conflicting roles in life and as writers. Does anyone have experience writing under a pen name and being discovered? Thanks for your support.
Conflicting is a good way to put it. I actually started writing sex because of a recurring nightmare. It was designed to scare me, or dull me out of writing. What a backfire! It was the characters! They were people, not objects. They had feelings and fears, and there was a message to convey. I'm something like 450 pages in (180k?), and I still couldn't say I'm writing erotica. It is lots of sex, but what is erotica to you? It turns out to be all shapes and colors, mild to wild, around here. Yeah, I'm damn sure keeping under a pen name!
Interesting story. I guess we all have unique motivations. What is erotica to me? Hmmm... I think I know what it's NOT, but I don't yet know what it IS. It's NOT . . . just sex unrealistic romance story fairy tale romance Have you posted anything in the workshop? I'll check it out. I'm still learning how to navigate the forum.
I normally don't leave that kind of thing up. I posted a particularly visceral one as a test to see what they would tolerate. But that wasn't the usual thing in the story. I'll post something semi-visceral from one of their quieter scenes.
1. It is good that you have noticed that it is your own concern that is holding you back, not reality itself. 2. Most humans have some kind of passion in that area. 3. It will ruin things only if it both badly written and does not sell. But then nobody will find it. So it does not ruin anything.
