I suppose that's true, but I often feel that people offer praise out of kindness so I don't trust it. I distrust compliments because I don't know if the person really liked the story or the graphic, or they just don't want to hurt my feelings. And the problem I have with criticism is that it often doesn't help me fix what the problem is. I know my style of writing tends to be soft and soapy, but I don't know how to put an edge to my curvey words. I guess you either know how to do it or you don't and, while a critique can say: "well, that's spelled wrong" or "those words don't rhyme," they can't really tell you how to change a style that is insufficient. So I stop writing for long periods of time, hoping that when I resume I will forget my style. But each time I resume, my style is no tougher...resistent to the changes of time, my style remains droopy. Better not to write than stare at words that float soggily on the page. I don't need a critic to tell me what's wrong. Apparently I would need a miracle to fix it. Or perhaps a transplant of someone else's genetic coding who has the kind of sleek style that I admire but can't achieve. And, then I look at my graphics, and dang if they don't have the same problem. I who am difficult and cranky and cynical end up with gentle, childlike graphics with the same soapy quality to them. Sigh. So, tjames. I appreciate people who take the time to comment on what I've done, and thank them kindly for their generousity to try to help, but I won't ask for criticism knowing some part of me remains resistent to change despite all my conscious efforts.