Thank you for sharing this Lyndsay. I read your story about Brittany Lynn and I was touched by your recollections. I am also glad that you received a good response from the people who mattered most to you. But yes I have felt the emotional toll of writing. From the joy of knowing that people understand exactly how you feel and what you have conveyed, all the way to the other end of the spectrum, when readers poke fun at your work or bring you down so badly you wonder if writing is really for you or not.

I have coped with these emotions in various ways, from crying to shutting down to euphoria…but in the end I go back and write. I remind myself that this is par for the course and I eventually owe it to myself to get my voice out there. And along the way, I am glad that I made that decision. If the writing was well received then you owe it to yourself to continue writing. If the reviews were bad, at least you wrote from your heart.