Does your family blow off your writing?

[prospero1501]

I've been pretty lucky to have most of my close friends and my mother support me in my writing career, but my own husband and son could not care less that I am a published author. In fact, my husband does not read. Period. My son only reads when he has to, mainly for school, so you can imagine how it feels to be an author who lives with two people who basically hate books. I love them to pieces, but if there was just one thing I could change about my family, that would be it. But let me make one thing clear: I refuse to let their lack of enthusiasm stop me from writing every single day of my life. Every evening, I sit down and write what I can. Sometimes it's only a few lines, and other times it may be two or three pages. Sometimes more. But I don't stop. You might not think a few lines per day can add up, but you'd be surprised. The point is, regardless of others, I show up. I do what I love. And I will never quit.

[Rachel McClellan]

I hear you prospero1501! My husband only reads nonfiction. He hates anything paranormal or fantasy, which is of course what I write. It's hard because sometimes I want to bounce ideas off him, but he's like, "Can't you write a book about World War II?" And I'm like, "Only if there's a vampire in it."

[emthomas1]

To the contrary, my family enables my writing - especially my infant son. Those long nights where I am on baby wake-up duty mean there is plenty of time to fill while the little guy is sawing logs (hopefully). Thus, I'm probably writing now at a faster clip than I have in years.

[ModraWintruz]

My family supported my writing until I started writing pieces and works that relate to my religion. Im a Pagan polytheist and they are Christian. They either dont comment now or use each step in my writing career that goes in that direction as a chance to try and tell me how I should "get right with the Lord." Its gotten to where I don't share with them now and keep each achievement announced among just a few close friends and my husband.

[scourtneykillian_16]

My family has always blown off my writing. I've gotten to where I just don't even want to go to family gatherings anymore because I'll just get ignored. I use family gathering days to stay home and write...which of course makes them even angrier but it's not like they would acknowledge my existence if I was there anyway.

[Rebeccaej]

My wife is deeply supportive, helps me to find time to write and encourages me to get back into it when I've been neglecting it. It does mean she's not great at providing feedback, because she doesn't want to tell me anything except, "that's so great!" but I'll take that balance.

My biological family is supportive of me doing pretty much anything I'm good at. I've been struggling to find a career/stable life...ANYTHING, for a while, so they'll get behind me finding anything that works for me.

[Brandi Noelle]

My whole life, all I ever heard from my family is what a talented writer I was. When I became an adult, I went through a writing lull that last several years, mostly just because I was busy with "real life." My parents would tell me constantly how much I needed to be writing, how I was too talented to waste it, and on and on. I began working as a freelance writer when I was pregnant with my daughter and I've spent the last 5 years writing all sorts of things. My family? Silent. They know I'm doing it, but they never ask to read anything or inquire about what I'm working on. If I mention that I'm on a deadline, they blow right by it or my dad will say, "Oh, are you still doing that?" My mom will still make comments about my wasting my talent, and when I reply that I am working writer, she comes back with, "But you should be writing about ____ or ____." She has her ideas of what I should be writing and anything else just doesn't count in her mind. It is very frustrating. If not for my husband's support, I would be devastated. Instead, I'm mostly annoyed.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

My father was the first proof reader I had when I used to write poems in my childhood. So I don't think family is the worst audience

[MedleyLORE]

Well I hope no one in my family reads my work and know it’s me. It would be tragic and I would never be able to look them in the face.
It’s not like I write porn or anything but it’s a little too much to let them know my work is out there. I would never give my family my pen name. It’s not written for them, and if they find it and read it then that’s fine as long as the don’t know it’s me.

[chelhack]

Sometimes I believe that the family members that do and or have seen my writings are more proud of them then I am. I am quiet about it but they will bring it up in front of a group of people who know nothing about my writings which makes me all bashful for some reason

[autsogn]

Family is supportive on the surface, but their biggest contribution typically amounts to that moment where they buy a copy of the book and then wait for you to jump up and down in joy kissing their feet for such a grand gesture. When you try to explain that you'd rather have some honest feedback or ask them to post a review, then they get really quiet, really fast. On the other hand, what I've written can be pretty dark for many of them, so maybe I don't want them to read it after all! And God forbid you forgot to mention one of them in the preface.

[dreamthewilderness]

Most of my family are definably disinterested. My partner, however, is incredibly supportive - will read anything I write, and happily. Funny how that works...

[Alice Thokchom]

In my family, I didn't even express that I want to write. They are the kind of a matter of fact people. My sister is the worst.

[Khrysalis]

Hmm. Well, no, not exactly. When I was young, my family was supportive because they thought I'd cobble together some bestsellers or a prolific series and make the family rich. More interested in the potential money than they were in the art or my stories, you see.

Now, though, years have passed and life gets in the way and there always seems to be something more important or more immediate that I have to be doing other than researching, writing, and editing. I guess you could say they've lost interest or belief that I'll be able to do it for a living.

I'm making them sound selfish, aren't I? But we're working class, so endeavors centered around things not designed to put food on the table and gas in the car aren't seen as useful or practical.

[Khrysalis]

Family is supportive on the surface, but their biggest contribution typically amounts to that moment where they buy a copy of the book and then wait for you to jump up and down in joy kissing their feet for such a grand gesture. When you try to explain that you'd rather have some honest feedback or ask them to post a review, then they get really quiet, really fast. On the other hand, what I've written can be pretty dark for many of them, so maybe I don't want them to read it after all! And God forbid you forgot to mention one of them in the preface.

Ha! I know exactly what you mean. For most of my family, reading is considered a laborious chore, and the only writing they do is signing their name on receipts and packages. Asking for reading and reviewing from them is considered a bit unreasonable.