IWSG - July edition

Hard to believe it's already the first Wednesday of a new month--where does the time go?  If you're just joining us, IWSG stands for Insecure Writers' Support Group, and it's a blog hop hosted by the wonderful Alex J. Cavanaugh.  Visit his blog to sign up and participate as we share our worries and stresses about this writing life.

Clark Kent puppy
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I don't know about the rest of you, but I have a secret identity.  I write under a pen name, which is not that unusual.  The thing is, I've generally kept my writing life separate from my day job life, but lately the line of demarcation has grown thin.

I'm not ashamed of the fact that I write, or ashamed of what I write.  I just haven't wanted to talk about it much at work because of an irrational fear that I will no longer be seen as a professional.  My co-workers have in no way contributed to this fear, but it exists, nonetheless.  I really dread the day my students find out, because I imagine (again, irrationally) that the news will only serve as a distraction. I hope I'm wrong.

Most of my family and friends know that I'm a writer, but there is still a sizable contingent of people who have no idea.  I've always been a fairly private person, so it is not out of character for me to keep things close to the vest.  I guess I'm still trying to figure out how to talk about this part of my life with people who have already slotted me into a defined category.

What about you?  Do you have a separate 'writer identity,' or are you an open book?

Insecure Writer's Support Group - July edition

This is my first month participating in the Insecure Writer's Support Group, and I'm pretty excited.  Thanks to Deniz Bevan for the link!

Today I'm going to talk about writer's guilt.  Maybe I'm the only one who does this (thank you, Catholic school), but when I don't get to write every day I feel guilty, like I'm letting down my WIP.  For the past several days, I haven't been able to write as much as I would like.  I'm getting antsy, but it's looking like I won't be able to sit down and really focus until this weekend.

I know it's important to rest and recharge every so often, but sometimes it's hard to do that without feeling like I'm slacking.  I really want to be able to write for a living, and I know I have to pay my dues first.  At the same time, I know that breaks are not bad things, because otherwise, my brain turns to mush and I can't write anything at all.  I just need to get to a place where I don't beat myself up over resting.

Does anyone else feel this way?  Did you ever feel this way?  Any hints or tips on how you are getting through it/have dealt with it before?  Please share in the comments!