No, it's not Luna. It's me. But I hear that in Luna's voice when I write it like that and... yes. It comes across with the right amount of emphasis I'm going for.
No matter who you are. Whether you're really super popular or some lowly no-name like me, someone out there is going to come across you, and not like your writing. Someone out there is going to take a swing at you: either because they want to "help," they've been having a bad day and you're an easy target, because for some reason you have vexed them and clearly it will ruin their entire lives if they don't say something immediately to make you suffer horribly for what you have dared to do, or just because they can. Although there are the most dangerous of all, too: the people who do really want to try and offer a little advice but who either lack tact or accidentally blunder right into a nerve.
If you want to survive as a writer, you have to be able to survive the criticism you're going to get. You don't have to learn to respond with politeness and dignity, of course, but that does help too. I, personally, try to only be a complete douchebag when it warrants it. Yes, the Royal Court always warranted it. ALWAYS.
Anyway, uh. Yes. First of all, you don't need high self esteem, or a loyal fanbase. You don't need to even really believe in the goodness and infallibility of your own writing: in some ways, it's better if you do recognize that yes, there. Are probably flaws in your work. But likewise, also recognize where your strengths are, and that the opinions of one don't matter: hell, even the opinions of the many don't matter in some scenarios. Look at how many stupid decisions people will make as a whole, especially when hot-button topics are involved or things that go against preconstructed norms or ideals. In the same hoof, don't use it as a crutch and shield when someone says "Dude, you spelled 'the' wrong about fifty times in this story. Please use spellcheck." But if a group of people from the Anti-Bad-Things society come up and tell you not to write bad things in your story because that's like, bad, then you can probably ignore them. Learn to recognize what can be treated in the realm of grey area, and what has to be treated as black and white.
You're going to have to learn to deal with people who like to nitpick. People who will tell you that everything you're doing is wrong. People whose greatest argument against you will be "your stupid," to which the proper response is and must always be: "my stupid what?" A lot of these are easy to shrug off, in theory, and it's easy to tell yourself, "it doesn't bother me at all." But sometimes things slip through, because of... associations, word choice, or just a plain lucky shot. And it's okay to feel that pain: writing is often a very personal thing, after all. What's not okay is taking it to heart, or letting them beat you. Whether it's one, ten, a hundred people, do not let anyone stop you from writing, or tell you how or what to write: keep going at it. Yes, there's always room for improvement, and yes, make sure that every now and then you look at your story and think over how things are going, and for the Horses of Heaven please try and maintain a consistent plot. But don't mutilate yourself for the pleasure of others. You might end up with adulation, sure... but inevitably, those people will always move on to the next new thing, and your stories, that you've written now purely for others, will lose all meaning to you. Might even become a source of shame. Write for yourself, first and foremost. Always write what you want to, the stories you're compelled to tell, and yes, do a good job of it, but don't let the harsh words of others ever steal the ability to write away from you. It's a skill, a talent, and a gift. Don't abuse it or forsake it just because "it's haaaard" or "they said mean things to me!"
Write, and don't let what other people say hurt you. Take their criticism, learn from your mistakes, build your experiences, but don't let people get under your skin and start telling you what's okay to write and what's not. These are your stories, not theirs, and if you touch even one person, if even one other person enjoys your stories... then you've succeeded in your task. You've succeeded even if you just complete a story, because it's not about fame or fortune or anything else. It's about writing. So. Write. Right? Right.
~Scrivener Blooms
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