Getting your writing criticized can be a lot like getting skinned, and you respond to it just as enthusiastically.

You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.
That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.

I was attracted to science fiction because it was so wide open. I was able to do anything and there were no walls to hem you in and there was no human condition that you were stopped from examining.

Delusional pain hurts just as much as pain from actual trauma. So what if it's all in your head?

The major tragedies in life, there's just no compensation. But the minor ones you can always write about. It's my way of dealing, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than psychiatrists. The story, you see, will get you through.

I just knew there were stories I wanted to tell.