A Wall Between Writing Life and Real Life?

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Coralynn

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My closest friends and family know I write. I try to tell them all that it’s just a creative outlet and not to take it seriously so they don’t try to get too involved. My mom once announced to the entire extended family at a Mother’s Day brunch that I wanted to be an author. I could’ve kicked her if she was on my side of the table. This was what I was trying to avoid by telling them it was just a hobby. I think most of the family has forgotten.

There are a lot of haters where I work so I absolutely won’t be talking to any of them about it. Only one person outside of my writing life knows my pen name. And it’s not my mom!

I have a great writers group but they have recently started a Facebook group. I think who knows and who doesn’t is going to be outside of my control soon.
 

gettingby

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I'm not sure why people want to put up walls like mentioned here. Writing is something I do, and I don't see the point of making it a secret. It is a part of my real life.
 

Beachgirl

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I'm not sure why people want to put up walls like mentioned here. Writing is something I do, and I don't see the point of making it a secret. It is a part of my real life.

One reason is because some people could be penalized for writing. Teachers have lost jobs because they also wrote erotic romance. Some of us have very public jobs and do not want our non-writing professional life mixed with our writing life. If you Google my real name, I'm in newspapers and all sorts of public meeting forums. Since not everyone is accepting of the genre I write in, I don't need my writing life to negatively impact my daytime career.
 

Layla Nahar

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I keep my writing out of the topic of conversation with those I know socially. I also sew and design, and I only discuss this with others who have a similar interest or practice. I wouldn't discuss writing with them, nor sewing with writers. Part of the reason I'm mum about my writing with those I know socially is from the fear of jinxing myself... If I ever were published, I'd only share it with other writers, prolly only if they themselves were published, too.
 
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Faye-M

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I find it hard to talk about the specifics of my writing with anyone other than my mother and 2 closest friends, but that's because when I try to talk about my plots they tend to sound silly to me, and it discourages me from continuing with them. They are the only 3 people I can trust to have an intelligent conversation about my silly ideas and make them seem... well, less silly.

With anyone else, I do talk about the fact that I write if it seems to fit with the conversation. Honestly, my life is so boring and has been unproductive for so many years that I'm glad to have anything to say!

Overall, I agree with Roxxsmom - I try to remember what it's like for me when someone rambles about something I have no interest in, and that keeps me from yammering on about any one thing when talking to someone whose personal interests I don't know. I talk a little about each facet of my life, and if I have one of them in common with the person I'm talking to, that's where we direct the conversation. That goes for both online and off - I try to strike a balance in my journal and Facebook posts so that people who aren't interested in one part of my life can still read about the things that do interest them.
 
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