Writer’s Block (Part 10 of 16)

I remember only his last name as Mills, but he joined a writer's group called the Scriptiques that I ran for nearly four years. Mills was fairly talented and he might have become a well-known writer. But he couldn't take criticism.

He read our comments on his manuscripts and listened when we spoke, but he didn't change anything when he brought his manuscripts back. He finally stopped writing. He had a number of excuses about how busy he was and his wife didn't like his spending so much time on writing.

Maybe those facts were true. But I think he was incapable of bursting past writer's resistance because he couldn't take criticism. The more our group pointed out his weaknesses, the less he wrote.

A few years ago I formed an online writer’s group, and one woman was talented—her gift was evident, even though her skills weren't that advanced.

Each time I edited her material I pointed out her weaknesses (and they were many) but also reminded her that she could learn the rules of writing. Each time I mentioned how much I admired her talent.

After five months, she dropped out. "You never have anything good to say about my writing. All you do is criticize. I can't take any more of your negativity." I never heard from her or about her again.

Some people can't handle criticism
so they give up and give in to writer's block.