Reblogged from The Story Reading Ape:

Have you as a writer heard grumbles on your material choices? For instance, if you write horror or romance? Perhaps family members or friends point out that they object to your story or the direction you want to take your career. Does it influence you? Has it made you steer clear of writing such stories? Do you keep what you write secret from church members for fear of being shamed for it? For most of my life, I’ve done this at one time or another. When I was young, eighteen, I made the mistake of admitting that I wrote horror to my pastor’s wife. She was horrified and suggested that I cease writing such stories immediately. It took me many years before I admitted the same to family and friends and here and there, I heard murmurs about writing “that stuff.”

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