The Confabulator Cafe

Tag: family

  • A World of Support

    I have always been incredibly fortunate when it has come to friends, family, and significant others and my writing. I have never once run into someone who said I couldn’t do it.

    I’m not sure my family, my Mom especially, ever really understood my drive to write, but they’ve always encouraged me. We’re a family of storytellers anyway, so that part I know they understand. I just choose a different medium. A medium most dyslexics shy away from.

    I’m pretty sure my extended family, as well as my close friends, think it’s really neat that I write. They always ask to read my work when I tell them I’ve been writing. Someday I might actually even share it with them! (more…)

  • The Writer’s Wife: Maybe a Test, Never a Target

    When it comes to writing, my wife and I have an odd relationship.

    She goes out of her way to be supportive of my writing endeavors. She encourages me, she tries to make sure I carve out time in my schedule to write, and she understands when I hit a creative rough patch and need to just escape the house and family for a few hours of in-my-own-head time.

    I have no doubt she’s in my corner when it comes to this writing thing.

    The bit that’s probably weird to a lot of people is that, to my knowledge, my wife reads very little of what I produce. It’s not that she doesn’t want to read it, but there are times when I caution her not to seek it out.

    (more…)

  • Behind every good writer…

    I’ve been a lucky writer. I’ve enjoyed a large amount of support from friends and family. In fact, I have never known anyone who was not supportive of my writing.  Even family and acquaintances who don’t read my particular style, or don’t understand or appreciate some of the things I have written are supportive of my life as a writer.

    It is an interesting thing. Maybe there are critical people out there, and I’m just not aware of them. But there is a fine line when it comes to a writer’s confidence. Support is great. We need it. We especially need support of our writing time. Anyone can be supportive when it doesn’t affect them. But writing is a solitary business, and it is a lot harder to be supportive when it is affecting your time with a loved one.

    However, in my experience, people can be too supportive. That sounds odd, maybe even impossible, but there is a definite fine line. Writers are psychologically fragile. At some point, support, though well-meaning, can place a lot of pressure upon the writer. (more…)

  • Writers’ Support Structures (Week Ending October 6)

    As the old saying goes, “Behind every great man, there’s a woman.” (Okay, it’s an old, somewhat sexist saying. But it’s more applicable than “Sometimes monkeys die.”) The thing is, writers have known for generations that they are at the mercy of someone else, often their patrons. These days, however, it’s difficult to find a Medici family member willing to upfront the cash while you write your next play or book of sonnets.

    So, how does a 21st century writer survive? On the one hand, there’s the starving artist who lives hand-to-mouth while trying to get published. On the other, there’s the part-time scribbler who burns the midnight oil because he or she has to spend each day at a “real” job. And there are those lucky few who have family and friends who enable them to write at their leisure. (No pressure there. Am I right?)

    This week, we’re asking the writers at the Cafe about their families and the support they receive. We want to know how our writers cope with the pressures of daily living and writing, and what their friends, families, spouses, and/or significant others do to help or hinder the writing process.

    Be sure to leave your comments and questions for our writers. They love interacting with our readers. And if you have a moment, be sure to follow the Confabulator Cafe on Twitter and Facebook.

    Until Next Week,

    The Cafe Management