A Fiction Writer's Dilemma, "What Will They Think?"

Everyone has a writer in him/her and everyone has a story to tell. If honesty is your forte and you are telling a true story spiced up with some imagination, it's easy, maybe even a cakewalk. It is when you are writing a total fiction, that lots of doubts creep up on your mind. The biggest dilemma that fiction writers are faced with, is "What will they think?"

'They' can be anyone, especially friends and relatives. Maybe even office colleagues, local shopkeepers etc. People who know you. They have a particular image of the writer and the writer has a reputation to preserve.

Even here on Xomba, while writing a byte or even a comment, one must be considering what others will think, especially after you have built up a reputation. You don't want to harm it. The referral program, a good thing for sure, as also the wonderful monetary returns from Xomba, has ensured that users get their friends and relatives onboard. That is where the requirement of being politically and ethically correct comes in.

Fiction writing demands that the subject and the story is made interesting to the reader. And inclusion of some amount of all the seven deadly sins are paramount to the work's success. Irrespective of the character who commits the sin in your novel, the scene will inadvertently reflect upon your character. A simple act of throwing a stone at a dog or a cat by a character in your novel is likely to make your PETA inclined/influenced friends to look at you with disdain. A father's unhappiness at his son's progress in your fictional work will probably result in your own son wondering if you are writing about him. And sex without feelings or in a manner as yet unexplored with your own spouse; don't even ask! Do it only at the risk of damaging your happily married life. ( OMG that's what he/she thinks or wants to do!)

My point is that if one keeps thinking about "what will they think" it is unlikely that one can proceed beyond the first few chapters of the book. Maybe that's the reason most poeople are into writing books about spirituality, DIY, cooking etc and fiction is generally taking a backseat.

So, how does one become a fiction writer without compromising his own character?