User blog comment:SodaCat/Okay so/@comment-26358727-20150622203720/@comment-26358727-20150623012447

Oh, for sure. I'm really enjoying the laid-back atmosphere here - that's one of the things that really drew me to the place. I think understanding someone's skill level is very important when critiquing someone's work. To be honest, I've kept some very poor company in my time, people who enjoyed ripping into Mary Sue characters viciously rather than constructively... I think that's why we really drifted apart.

And Michael, I certainly look forward to your next series. If I'm honest, I share almost nothing in common with my current character and I find that building a person up entirely from scratch is one of the most fulfilling feelings. Plenty of people write self-insert characters - and there's nothing wrong with that because it can be a lot of fun - but there's certainly something to be said for totally original characters, as well.

I think, no matter how you decide to approach writing, you should always write to learn - whether it's about yourself, about the particular subject matter, about human interaction, or about writing itself, you should always walk away from the experience a little more whole ( :