I'm participating in a blog fest over at Juliana L. Brandt's blog:
The question this week is: Do you tell people you are a writer? And when you do, what reaction do you get?
Truth is I really don't tell people I am. My sister knows because she watches me toil away at my laptop. My parents and cousins know because I have to tell someone about the partial/full requests, good/bad feedback. But aside from that, I don't really tell anyone.
The longest conversation I've had about my writing with either A) someone who's not a writer themselves or B) one of the above mentioned people, went kind of like this.
Me: What's up?
Them: All this cool stuff (lists cool stuff). How about you?
Me: Oh you know, work, running, soccer, singing in the band, etc. Oh...and writing a book.
Them: Like a book, book?
Me: Yup
Them: Cool. You'll have to tell me when it's out so I can buy it.
I appreciate the confidence :)
How about you? Do you tell people you're a writer? If you're not a writer, are there things you've given up telling people?
Thanks for stopping by my blog :)
ReplyDeleteIf it hadn't been for being a NaNo ML (and therefore trying to drum up support for that madness) I probably wouldn't have told anyone at work about my writing. But as it is they know, and they see me working on it all the time, but most of them haven't read any of it (except my boss, who is a fan and lets me work on it at the dayjob as long as I get all my other work done on time - always get the boss on your side ;P).
Science Writers FTW!
Ooo, I like the boss suggestion. I really like my boss, it'd be interesting what she'd say...
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by my blog!
I want to know more about your writing life sometime!
ReplyDeleteHi Kelley. Your reaction is SO typical of a lot of us "unknown" writers! I think I told you I didn't start writing until I was in my late 40's. When I mentioned it AT ALL to people, I'd usually say, "I'm a fledgling writer." ...even after I'd had a couple of Chicken Soup for the Soul stories published. I just didn't feel "good enough", for lack of a better word, to announce to the world that yes, I AM A WRITER! And, a typical question is "Oh, what have you written?" or "What books have you written?" etc.etc.! But from my little bit of experience I'll say this, Have lots of confidence in yourself and shout it from the rooftops every now and then...if not all the time!
ReplyDeleteHaha. You got it Jamie :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pep talk Becky! I'll try and work on it. :)
Hi Kelley - thanks for visiting and following my blog! I tried to follow back and was told "they" (whoever "they" are) couldn't handle my request at this time... so I'll have to try again later :)
ReplyDeleteI'm supposed to be doing Warm Fuzzies too, but I can't seem to find a place to squeeze it in this week!
Yep, I sure do. But since my day job is as a copywriter, that usually makes things a bit easier (and I'll often get the comment, what is a copywriter?).
ReplyDeleteIt's not the easiest thing to bring up, kind of like opening Pandora's Box, i.e. I could go on and on and don't want to try and smush everything into a single conversation. My wife often bring sup my writing when we're speaking with others, so that's the ice-breaker so to speak, but I don't know if I'll ever get used to talking abut writing outside of a classroom setting.
ReplyDeleteYay! Got it now :)
ReplyDeleteI like what Mark said about the Pandora's Box. I totally agree!
ReplyDeleteI never used to. Now I do on occasions. Most of the time typical conversations go the exact way as yours, but then you get the odd person whos really interested, and I feel embarressed calling myself a writer when I haven't had anything published - should that even make a differece after the hours and years I've put in. But come November 27th that will all change and I'll be screaming it from the rooftops. I've waited a long time to make it official in my eyes ... :)
ReplyDeleteMark and Cassie - Totally agree about the Pandora box thing. Love that analogy.
ReplyDeleteMelissa - Don't hate me...but what is a copywriter?? :)
Susanna - Thanks so much for stopping by and not giving up with the follow! :)
DRC - What will you be screaming from the rooftops??? Are you going to be published? Did I miss something?
ReplyDeleteI used to. Then I stopped writing and now I can't tell people anymore.... siigh
ReplyDeleteOh... why did you stop writing?
ReplyDeleteMy writing started becoming repetitive. I lost my inspiration and started subconsciously recycling old material. When it got pointed out to me, I kinda just stopped. So many notepads that I still jot down ideas in, but so far nothing connectable =/
ReplyDeleteOh...gotchya. Well it's good you still jot down notes. Hopefully someday there will be an idea that grabs you and won't let go. :)
ReplyDeleteKelley, I love it. That's basically how my conversations about my writing go, too. Or the other reaction might be-- "Oh, I've been meaning to write a book, too! I just need to sit down and do it." And I say, "Yep, you just have to sit down and do it!" :)
ReplyDeleteAmy
Haha. I actually haven't had anyone tell me they're thinking about writing a book. I think I might freak out and start throwing a whole bunch of tips out on what I've learned so far.
ReplyDeleteHopefully I wouldn't scare them away... ;)
Following you back! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI never tell people I'm a writer. My boyfriend always outs me though, and it always goes over better than I expect. :)
ReplyDeleteI just started telling people recently. It's been... well... interesting.
ReplyDeleteKelley,
ReplyDeleteI'm following back. Love your blog! Great post. I've been there and it's a great feeling.
Courtney- Thanks for the follow!
ReplyDeleteAlexis - That's so wonderful to hear that your boyfriend is proud of you and your writing. He's a keeper ;)
Kate - Good for you!
Debra - Thanks for the follow!
I think it was Shannon Hale that said telling someone you're a writer is kind of like telling them you want to be a princess when you grow up. I guess I'd feel the same silly-nervousness saying either statement, so maybe it's true. I don't advertise my writing, but friends and family know, and I still have a hard time with the "What books have you written?" type questions.
ReplyDeleteI thought I commented here but I didn't. Oops. After three years of writing I have finally started telling people. Some people I feel like don't take me seriously and others don't understand why I'm not published because they have no idea how hard it actually is. With those people I always hate when they ask me how's the writing going because I feel like they have expectations for me and I'm letting them down.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I love my fellow writers. They get it. And my mom. She's awesome :)
Ilima - Love the name btw. Thanks for stopping by! I love the comparison to being a princess. :)
ReplyDeleteTheresa - Good for you for telling people. And it's true. Unless you try, you don't know how hard it is to get published. It will happen though. We just gotta keep working at it. :)
It took me a year just to tell my wife what I was doing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog.