I was talking to a fellow writer a little while ago, someone I used to work with. In my profession (which is related to: IT), it's strange and unusual to meet someone who also writes. Frankly, I struggle to meet people who even read. But it happens. Anyway, she had posted one of her own short stories to her blog, and I read it. It was quite good. So we had a little chat about writing in general. I confessed that even though I had a blog of my own, I didn't have any of my work out there... and then I could give no good reason for it.
Was it because I was afraid of someone stealing my work, she asked. No. Not at all. Honor among thieves and all that aside, I just never assumed my writing was good enough to steal. Was it because I was afraid of negative feedback? No, again, certainly not. (A year's worth of Dr. Welt's writing workshops cured me of that.) So what was it?
I gave it a bit of thought and I came to the conclusion that it was because I was afraid of it being ignored. Sitting in a folder on my c:\ drive, it was ignored only by me. But my writing is my creation. I love all of my stories, good or bad. I revisit all of them from time to time. They are largely ignored, true, but they are safe and secure, nestled in their tiny beds, hibernating until such time that I can figure out what to do with them. Out there in the world wide whatever, they are free and can be ignored on a grand scale and...
...and...
There is no "and."
And: so what? They can be ignored until the cows come home (in a figurative and strictly technical sense, I suppose) and it doesn't hurt anything. Or they could be discovered by pretentious cretins who tear them apart. They can be laughed at. They can be scorned. It really doesn't matter. I'm not doing anything with them anyway. So why not.
My stories are linked above. I'll add more as time and inclination hits me in just the right mood.
A final thought: somewhere buried in these pages (deep within the "writerly" tag, I presume) is this drivel, which details my writing experience thus far. I add it here for your edification and/or amusement.
