I honestly always feel a little bitter when I read successful writers talking about how their parents read their stories when they were younger, and actually give them feedback on their work. I showed some of these articles to my mom, just to prove to her that some parents actually do involve themselves in their kids' lives, and she started crying, obviously very insulted.
Then, instead of offering to read and review my work she continued watching The Bachelor or Entertainment Tonight or some such crap..............
:( that's bullshit and I totally know how you feel
ReplyDeletemy mother was the opposite. She read all my writing out loud. Loudly.
ReplyDeleteshe always knew I hated it. she would laugh sometimes too.
my stepfather would read them sometimes. but in his reading voice. which is best described a a river. soft, crash. soft, crash.
this would make me laugh. i guess you could say that i got used to people laughing at my stuff, and was able to laugh at my stuff in turn.
Ah. to the issue though. perhaps your mother feels a bit uncomfortable reading your writing. perhaps shes not a big reader. if she loves you enough to cry, then she loves you quite enough, no?
I find girls are lenient with their fathers, and more harsher on their mothers, with boys being the opposite. theres a psychological/developmental commentary on Society in there, but I've rambled enough.
Thanks for sharing your own experiences with your parents. I find it fascinating to know about the experiences of other writers-- I suppose that in the end it doesn't really matter, because real writers are going to write whether supported or not!
ReplyDeleteI do wonder about the effect it has on our writing, though.