We had friends over for a meal this weekend, and a little voice in me wanted to tell them that I’m writing my fourth novel, but a louder voice clamped down on that thought.
All my friends are aware of my professional publications, although they are barely interested as we all work in different fields.

The reason I don’t tell people is that I haven’t got an agent and so my chances of publication are pretty slim. As I periodically send out queries, I don’t want people continually asking me if I’ve been successful; it would heighten my feelings of failure that plague me periodically.

This reminds me of the latter stages of pregnancy, when well meaning people would phone up to ask me if I’d had the baby, which after a while became tiresome in itself, never mind carrying another person inside me.

One of the several reasons why I love Twitter is that I can speak freely about my writing as I don’t know anyone in real life. A teenage friend of my daughter is on Twitter, but as I’m in the wrong age bracket, I’m not famous and I’m not in a girl/boy band, I’m of no interest to her thankfully.

I’m so passionate about writing, and I feel the need to write and read about writing on a daily basis, that it saddens me that I have to keep it a secret. I long to scream, ‘I’m a writer,’ but until I achieve the next step, I have to whisper it to myself.

What do you do? Are you open about it? Do you tell a select few? I’d love to know to see whether I should have a different view point.

Welcome to Shannon and thanks for following me.

Happy Word Flow One & All