Notes on Handprint

[diane_b_taylor]

 It was early January in 2007 when I became very ill with some strain of flu and I couldn't do anything but lay around the house, drag myself to class and struggle through homework. The illness ended up lasting about four weeks - really, I should have gone to the hospital because it shouldn't have lasted that long.

But while while I was "drowning"

Comments

[starlight83]

I also never talk about my writing, though I don't write about anything particularly taboo. Very few people I know face to face are even aware that I do it as a hobby.

For me it's less about thinking someone won't accept my subject matter as it is that I worry friends and family will see things about me in my writing that I don't want them to know, or will misinterpret a character's thoughts as my own. Having someone read my writing makes me feel very exposed. It's always struck me as odd that I'm so much more comfortable showing it to strangers than my family.

[diane_b_taylor]

I don't think it's odd that you're more comfortable showing it to strangers than to family - if a stranger says something inflammatory or something that might be seen as inflammatory, it doesn't hurt as much as something negative a family member might say. Also, it feels like internet communities are potentially more open-minded and less likely to pass judgement on what you put out there. Obviously, this doesn't apply to a lot of communities and their users. XP