[stylist] Writing Anonymously

Tue May 4 14:39:41 UTC 2010

Hi Jewel,
I don't think any website where people can post stories/novels will 
allow you to post without a user name and vallid e-mail address. I think 
to truly own your story and your life, to truly complete the process of 
accepting the truth of your own innocence, in short, to heal, you need 
to work through this fear of being called out, ridiculed or blamed for 
who you truly are. To some extent, you are already taking steps in that 
direction by giving the list many details of that story. You could have, 
for instance, posted the question without a word about why you were 
seeking anonymity or what you were writing.

My suggestion is that you start with getting comfortable with a 
pseudonymous user name. I think that, like it or not, anyone who knows 
you well will recognize you in your work, unless you are so vague as to 
be irrelevant, which I doubt you would be. I don't believe, however, 
that they would be trolling the internet's writers' forums in the hope 
of stumbling upon your work just so they could give you a hard time 
about it. The question becomes, how important is it to you to keep this 
from people you know? Being open about abuse is difficult socially under 
the best of circumstances and moreso if a person has an additional 
stigmatizing characteristic such as blindness. One thing that may help 
you proceed is to think about the millions of other abuse victums who 
don't have your talent for writing, who haven't progressed as far as you 
in their understanding of what happened or is still happening and who 
will likely never have much in the way of external affirmation unless 
they get it from reading someone else's story.

In terms of where to write ... I know that Buzzle.com has sections for 
stories and poetry in addition to their news articles. There is also a 
site called "Authonomy" which was set up by Harper Collins publishing, 
where writers post the first 10,000 words (if memory serves) of their 
novels for peer review and the chance of publisher review. Here is a 
link to their FAQ page:
http://authonomy.com/FAQ.aspx#accept
Best,
Donna

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Jewel S. wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am writing a memoir...it is an emotional process, a painful writing,
> but one that needs to be done. It encompasses my childhood and the
> loss of it, my mental illness and my mother's sadism and abuse, and
> the "death" of my mother in my mind, the "killing" of the mother whom
> I have always loved but also always hated. I can summarize that here,
> but I cannot share the actual writings with anyone who knows who wrote
> it. I would feel that they would pity me, hate me for exposing this
> woman, or not believe that it is true. It scares me to share it with
> anyone who would know it was written by me. However, I know that any
> book that is going to be published needs to be read and edited,
> re-read and re-edited and then needs to be published. I plan on using
> a pen name that would be used only for this book, and for none of my
> others. However, I wanted to know how to go about with this. It is as
> much a healing of my inner child who never got a proper childhood and
> a tru confession to myself that it really happened and that I have
> been very sick and now I'm getting well. My counselor thinks it is a
> fine idea, but I am still afraid to share it, but I want people to
> know and understand the pains and joys, fears and triumphs of an
> abused child who never understood the abuse, who always blamed herself
> for it, and truly thought she was the black sheep who truly was
> naughty, and perhaps even evil. I remember the impression that I was
> possessed, that maybe there was a demon that made me so bad and my
> mother was only trying to rid me of it, or that I was a "bad seed."
>
> Anyway, as you might be able to tell, it's not a nice story nor does
> it yet have an ending, as I'm still trying to heal, but I want to work
> on the story, and someday publish it.
>
> How does one go about submitting a book without being known for who
> you are? How does one go about sharing a story with strangers? Are
> there places where stories can be submitted totally anonymously (and I
> don't mean under a username...I fear that I'd be found out and called
> out...but totally anonymously? Where would such a place be?
>
> I know I sound silly and paranoid...I am sorry. I am just still so
> fearful of sharing the story, but I know that in time it must be done,
> and I have some of the story to share and want it read, but don't want
> to share it as myself. Any thoughts?
>
> ~Jewel
>
> _______________________________________________
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> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
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