That's for me to know ...

... and you to find out.

In other words - it's a secret.
And the definition of a secret is something along the lines of 'not generally known', 'hidden', 'concealed'  ...

Why am I musing on secrets this week? Well, that's for me to know ...

Hah! Isn't that where we came in?

I've been pondering all the things people don't know, ever since my friend Barbara Longley tagged me on Facebook to divulge five things no one knows about me. If you want to check out my choices, they're reproduced below and are on my Facebook page. If you go over there you'll find some other lovely lists from the five Choc-lit authors I tagged in turn,

1) I fell in love with William Shakespeare at the age of four.
2) My favourite painter is John William Waterhouse.
3) I crossed the Atlantic in the original Queen Elizabeth (both ways).
4) I've been a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, off and on, since 1988.
5) My favourite houseplants are orchids. 


Of course making the list required some thought - which is when I reached the conclusion that whatever I included, the items would be 'Things not many people know' rather than 'Things no-one knows'. Everything on the list is known by at least one other person, or can be inferred from observation. (Touch of the Sherlock's there.)


Think about it. Unless you are alone when the event (if it is an event) happens, then there is always someone who knows. And even if you are alone, there may still be ways of someone finding out, because of any subsequent consequences.

A secret is really only a secret when it's not known to the circle of people you are with. Which means there is always the possibility of being found out.

Secrets are wonderful things to a writer. All my characters have them. Gradually making them known is what the story is all about.