NAKED

Crazy Grandma Ruth loves telling stories. It's like her crack.

One of her favorite stories to tell on us (I say us because honest, I don't have any idea which one of us it's even about anymore) is about the day that (let's just say me, shall we?) I took off all my clothes and took off through the house and yard and street naked, naked, naked, shouting to the clouds, "I'M NAKED AND I LOOOOOOOVE IT!"

Ruthie giggles till she cries when she tells that story.

I am also a storyteller.

At this point, I have written two non-published books. One in creative nonfiction and one in fiction, though the fiction novella is much unedited.

The creative nonfiction book would make sense as to why it would be extraordinarily vulnerable to share. It's my life, for goodness' sake! And I know what you're thinking, "Aren't you a little young to be writing an autobiography?" It's not an autobiography. It's creative nonfiction. Very different. It's a compilation of stories, stylized, and chosen due to similarity in theme.

Fiction, though, you'd think would be just fiiiiiiiine to share.

You are wrong.

Whether or not they mean to, writers embed themselves within the characters of their stories. Struggles and conflicts and desires that they may not even be willing to admit to themselves come out quite clearly in the struggles, conflicts, and hidden desires of their characters.

It's when the story reaches its resolution that the author often has a gasping, "oh no! This is me!" moment.

That's one reason narrative therapy is getting so popular these days. Projecting your thoughts and feelings onto someone else and working through them is a lot easier and more objective than continuing to stare at the back of your mindscape forever.

That's where the fear for me is and, I'm sure, where it is for other writers.

When we share our work, we are letting you see a most raw part of ourselves. We get naked with you.

That's terrifying.