On Wasting My Talent and Writing Trash

The other day one of the closest people to me in my life told me I was "wasting my talent" and "writing trash." I was floored by this. This same person had hugged me after my first sale, congratulated me on my first review and told me how proud they were of me. I can't really put into words how much it hurt to hear this. I felt like he'd lied to me. When I confronted him, he told me he was proud of me … proud that I am pursuing a goal, proud of my drive to succeed and proud of my resulting...