ROBIN BLACK: Another great question, because I think that one of the hardest things to know is not only to judge your own work and the value of it, but it's also hard to know who to listen to. And I think that that's some of the earliest advice I give people when they're starting out, is have an open mind when people are being critical of your work or have suggestions, but don't be a sponge. Be a good combination of open and maybe even a little bit stubborn sometimes, because one of the tools that a writer has is their instinct for what's on the page, and another tool a writer has is that they are the only person who can write what it is they want to write. And other people coming at it can tell you what's there, and they can tell you how they respond to it, but they can't tell you to want to write something different.
So it's important to develop that sense of, what is your project? What are you trying to do? And if somebody's giving you criticism who really doesn't support the project, it's just not-- it's not just that they think, oh, your characters need more development or I didn't believe this plot point, but they're sort of trying to change it into a different story, it's a kindness to yourself to kind of block those voices out. But also listen to the ones who have good stuff to say.