"Rainydayz179;14911456" wrote:
"MedleyMisty;14911357" wrote:
And then, even of the ones who do see us as human and who do appreciate the work that goes into what we give them, there are a lot of insecure and shy and anxious people out there who believe that we don't want to hear from them, that they'll be bothering us, who are worried that we'll make fun of their comments. And then of course on our side we interpret their silence as not caring, as meaning that whatever we did wasn't good enough, so it's just a giant circle of angst and anxiety.
Your post was very long and inspirational but this is the part that resonated the most with me. As someone with severe social anxiety it took me a long time to start reaching out to others here on the forums. One of the first was @CathyTea and she was so nice to me that it gave me the courage to interact more. My participation on the threads I follow and the amount I comment on stories I read are directly connected to my mood at the time.
I will admit that some writers intimidate me and they usually get so many comments on their posts already that I figure they don't need mine.
I've heard that you should write about what you know personally so I'm trying to add things like anxiety into my stories. It's my hope that someone will read it and either get an understanding of what it's like for others or recognize it in themselves.
I really resonated with this too. I struggle with anxiety and depression and this is definitely tied to my creativity and imagination when I'm feeling underappreciated. I too sometimes feel intimidated by writers who have a gazillion comments and wonder why they'd want to hear from me, but I do it anyway because I know how I love to get feedback and so I try to comment on nearly everything I read even if it's just a simple, "I like your story!" or "Great chapter." I think all of us, even those who get a lot of comments, can benefit from lending our voice in appreciation for the art form they just created.
