I can still remember when I first had aspirations toward writing as an adult, many years before I wrote my first book. I had worked hard on a short essay, and felt deeply proud of my effort toward creative expression. Out of an excitement to receive feedback, I approached a family member with experience in creative writing, to see what they thought. After a quick look over my work, this person said without any hesitation, “This is very low quality. You’ll never be a writer of any merit with this kind of rubbish.”

Frustrated but not deterred, I persisted in stating that my writing was worthwhile.