I'm a 20 y/o working on a YA/Teen novel. I plan to have the first draft done by this summer. And I'm kind of a mummy's boy. I was thinking of letting her read the book when I'm finished this draft - she knows that I write but I've never let her read any of my novels because they've never been good enough that I wanted to share them with anyone. But I'd like to share this one. However, there are some scenes that (while written for the characters and not as a reflection of my own life) do bear semblance to when I was a child, like when my stepdad used belt me. I'm afraid that my mum will think it's some sort of autobiography, and that it would be awkward to read. Should I let her read it and how do I make sure that she doesn't think it's a semi-autobiography? Most of the book is set in a fantasy world but there are some scenes that resemble real life. These scenes are important to the plot and I can't just delete them because that wouldn't be true to how I envisioned the characters.
You can't control how people read/interpret your work. You have to have the confidence to just put it out there and not care too much about how people react. It's part of being a writer.
I can sympathize - I have sort of the same issue right now. Just be brave though, you want to show it to a publisher. Imagine some critic psychoanalyzing your work?
Well typically the title gives away whether or not it's an autobiography. Of course you can always tell her before hand it's not a autobiography if it bugs you so much.
She is going to think what she is going to think despite any disclaimers that you make. I suggest that you finish the book first. That way any upset or emotionally based criticism will not affect your ability to craft the story the way you want it, without the additional burden of guilt or the disapproval of someone important to you. If you want to show her something, why not pick an extract that excludes the controversial bits?
