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When You’re the Source but Become the Tool
When writers (the source) and their work get co-opted, they become a tool for others seeking profit and fame.
Some think writers are showing off when they write and share their published articles or books. And so why not scam us, after all we are very conceited to think we can write. Or that’s what they think anyway. We aren’t anything special and they want to make sure we aren’t. So they try to degrade who we are and what we write.
In reality, many writers are introverts and prefer to remain very private. So for us to share our thoughts is actually a very generous act. It’s not a simple thing to do. It makes us very vulnerable. But we write to inform, entertain, or bring new awareness, and if possible, earn an income.
People think memoir writers are stuck in the past, fixated on people and events from long ago. Actually, personal stories can be very interesting and people can learn from them. Everyone has memories, some of us just write them down. Because we write out our stories and share them doesn’t mean we are still reliving them. Memoir is just one of the genres we choose to write in.
If someone uses our personal stories for nefarious purposes, such as to scrutinize our backgrounds or dissect our brains, we become a tool.
We can’t control shady characters. They’re already out there. We only hope they expose themselves eventually.
Writers can take a deep breath and keep writing or take a big nap to recover from being both the source and also sometimes the tool.
Disclaimer: I don’t speak for all writers or all situations.
