I’ve been following the press furore about Julie Myerson and her son with great interest, as it taps into a dilemma I’m currently experiencing in a much smaller way – how much personal detail do I include in these posts about working from home?

It’s said there is a chip of ice in the heart of every writer that makes them see every experience and relationship as legitimate material.  I have the chip of ice to the extent that part of me is objectively observing every situation I encounter, but I seem to lack the core of ice (the courage?) that would enable me to publish it.

I quickly discovered on my writing course that I had an embarrassing lack of ideas for stories, and was reduced to writing straightforward accounts of my own experiences and passing them off as fiction.  My tutor suggested I could get one of my pieces published as a short story, but I never seriously considered it because it was a faithful portrayal of someone in my life and I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.

Now I’m writing about working from home, I find I’m reluctant to mention even my friends’ first names in case they feel I’m using them, although I fear my posts may be less lively and engaging because of it.

What do you think?  Would you have written about your child as openly as Julie Myerson has?  Do you think her son’s behaviour ‘entitled’ her to do so, as some commentators seem to suggest?  And if you’re a friend, how do you feel about being mentioned here?