A writer's responsibility

By all accounts and all rationale, a writer should simultaneously be mindful of their audience and ignore them - creative writers and journalists, that is. (Naturally, every piece of PR I write is specifically crafted in the hopes it will appeal to the readers.) We want to write books, articles and so on that people will enjoy reading - hopefully even pay to read - but we cannot become so enmeshed in what they would want to read that we limit ourselves.

Steven King, in his book On Writing, talks about imagining your ideal reader and their reactions to things. My mom, who edits everything I attempt to publish, is the person who inevitably pops into my mind. She is a discerning reader with a thoughtful perspective, analytical mind and eye for details like the sound and flow of words, and so is a wonderful editor to have on my side. But though I feel free to curse a blue streak in front of her and share almost every detail of my life with her, there are still the usual limitations of the mother/daughter relationship.

For example, my own experiences with abuse naturally appear in my writing frequently. On my list of things to write are both a novel based around an abusive relationship and a non-fiction book that explores some of the lesser discussed aspects of abuse, like forgiveness afterwards and situations in which men are on the receiving end of abuse. But with my mom as my ideal reader, I frequently find pause in wondering how it will impact her - after all, though I was the one in the relationship, she suffered greatly for my decisions. To this day, I can't imagine what it was like for her to drive up to find our home surrounded by emergency vehicles.

Alternately, but equally vexing, is writing about sex. Not that any erotica is on my to-write list but any piece of writing about romantic relationships is eventually going to touch on sex if given enough time and word count. But they're doing what at the end of their date? And my mom is reading it?!?

I know: I'm closing in on my 30th birthday and am a monogamously married woman - it's probably time to stop pretending any sort of innocence about bedroom activities. But, c'mon, it's my mommy...