In our daily lives we are asked to share, update, and post. I translate those into “divulge, disclose, and publish.” Although we have the privilege of privacy, that is, no one forces anyone to use Facebook, Instagram, or tumblr, we oftentimes divulge and disclose with abandon to anyone with access to our profiles.

Sometimes what we say (post) gets misinterpreted and later discussed between ourselves and our audience. And I am sure that sometimes what we say (post) gets misinterpreted and discussed between our audience and others (not in our approved audience). With every disclosure, we risk losing control of the dialogue because the disclosure itself surrenders the idea to the public arena.

So I think it’s a good idea as we navigate through our lives to follow the words of Dia Reeves: “She was like the moon part of her was always hidden away.”

I have shared a lot of myself through my writing. Here, I share thoughts and ideas and personal experiences. It’s all very existential.

In my novels, I describe the experience of others, i.e., my created characters. The basis for their experiences sometimes mirror my own or mimic someone else’s. There will be readers who attribute it all to my “private” life and others who will remind themselves they are reading fiction borne solely of my imagination.

Over the next few months, I will be working on a project that is going to be existentially mine and yet done with complete anonymity. My intention is to strip away all identifiable markers so that no one knows the “who” behind the project and is instead interested in this creative pursuit exclusively based on the merits of what is revealed through the project.

This project will not be shared, updated, or published by Jenna Brownson.

Like the moon, I will keep hidden away my personal connection to the project for fear that my attached name to the (future) publication would steal away the project’s authenticity and power.

I’m considering my treatment of this endeavor as akin to adopting a nom de plume.

In our ever-enmeshed and over-informed culture, it will be a struggle to keep this part of me hidden away. But who doesn’t like the occasional formidable challenge?