: Re: How do I recover my confidence after a harsh writing group? Having majored in writing in my undergraduate studies, I spent lots of time getting critiques from my fellow students, some of whom

@Steve161

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As an author you have to be able to tell when your work sucks. It's a crucial skill that also leads to knowing when your work is actually good. Everybody writes crap at some point, usually on the first draft, so you have to know in advance when it needs revision and when it is ready for peer review.

If you want your confidence back, look back over the negative criticism with an objective mind and determine:

Was the criticism valid?
Can I improve in the validly criticized areas?

If you answer yes to #2 then just move on and keep practicing to get better. People who criticize story ideas have no valid place in a peer review group, so the valid criticism was targeted at your technical abilities, not your creativity. When you go to write, don't worry about the technical side. Just let the thoughts flow. Worry about the technical criticisms during the revisions.

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