Another thing on my mind, which just occurred to me, is a conversation I had with a fellow writer recently. She had been reading my blog (thanks for your support!) and when we got together for lunch, she asked if I was nervous about writing on my blog about my projects. She asked if I was afraid that someone would come along and steal my stuff if I wrote about it on here.
The answer is: absolutely.
It’s strange that I feel this way, but I feel like I get worried about people reading my things all the time for fear someone will come in and bogart my idea. It’s not like that hasn’t happened to plenty of writers throughout time, but for me, I guess I’m just paranoid. I feel like I work very hard at my writing, and I don’t feel entirely comfortable detailing my work on this blog. So I’m pretty vague about my projects. Even when I give little idea tidbits, I nickname things or I’m pretty oblique about what I’m talking about. The reason is, I don’t feel like anything should be disclosed until its completed and the manuscript is in front of me. So if I ever come across as being vague, I don’t mean to be annoying… I’m just vague for my own personal paranoia.
I’m actually curious, though, since my friend brought it up, if anyone else feels that way besides the two of us. This paranoia keeps me from handing out my work to be read by people a lot; when I pick editors, I’m very specific who I pick. I have friends I pick out very carefully for the job. So I wonder how many other people feel this way? It’s on my mind on this night of much blogging and little sleeping.