On writing: Does anyone else find it really hard

metaphor • 12 February 2012 at 11:56 PM

to let family read their work, even if it's something that's been published somewhere or is bound to be read by some kind of audience of strangers anyway? I find this especially difficult when it's a piece about something my family and I can all relate to (a death, a special occasion, etc.) I think it's because those strangers don't know me or my family. My family knows me and so when they read something in which I express grief for someone we all know and love...it just feels awkward, like you just fear judgment even though you know they probably won't judge you negatively. But they'll know exactly how you feel, and I just find that to be an incredibly uncomfortable feeling for some reason.

For instance, I am very reluctant to let my sister watch me on deviantart. Not because I have anything bad there or that I have anything to hide, but because a lot of my writings relate to real life and things she may know about me. And I just don't like to bring attention to things that she knows about me in real life.

Anyone else feel this way?

axel • 13 February 2012 at 12:01 AM

@Metaphor

I completely feel the same way.
I express my emotions into different styles of writing.
I usually never share them with my family because I feel it'd make things awkward. It is uncomfortable and I understand exactly what you mean.

EDIT: Meant to post on @Sky

nkiay • 13 February 2012 at 12:04 AM

Yes to a certain degree. Anything that I write for myself, I have trouble having my family read because it is so personal. School papers an such, even if it about my opinion, I consistently as my family to proofread. I dunno if I would say its uncomfortable, but is is definably not something I would go out of my way to do. Maybe embarrassing? It is just too exposing to have someone read your work, it's kinda scary, what if they don't like it? Or worse they think its silly. Dx

silver_winged • 13 February 2012 at 12:09 AM

Almost nobody I know personally gets to read my writing. I prefer to write about odd or fantastical subjects, and I think I'm afraid of being judged, based on either my subject material or writing style.

metaphor • 13 February 2012 at 12:19 AM

Even when I went to writing camp and my family was in the audience, I couldn't help feeling incredibly vulnerable in a way, which is probably why I froze up. I didn't care much about the audience, just about my parents and sister because they could probably identify almost every image I placed in that piece -- the birds, the clarinet, the poems. I even had my sister ask, "Who were you talking about when you said you wrote a poem to a friend?"
Yeah, it's a simple question, but for some reason it made me feel funny. She knows my friend, she knows me, and...it's just weird to think about.

smilies • 13 February 2012 at 1:14 PM

Mmm... I wrote something for this site, FanFic, but now I'm freaking out about posting it, especially because a user who's writing i love just "followed", me, so if I post anything she'll get a notification and REALLY don't want her to read it if it sucks ><

dreamer • 13 February 2012 at 3:53 PM

I don't really write stories in my freetime now, but when I did I would *never* let my family read it. I have a right to keep it to myself. Sometimes I'm afraid to even hand in a writing project to a teacher in which we have to explain what we like and what our personality is. I express it through songwriting now. I only show my music to my friends at school,