Hi Neil, I'm 18 years old and just finishing the first draft of my novel. But when it's finished, I don't know how I'll be able to bring myself to show it to anyone. I am genuinely TERRIFIED of what my friends and family are going to think (I got some negative criticism from a friend in the past, and my parents have very strong opinions on literature), and that paralyzes me. Is there any way to deal with such anxiety? (P.S. this may have gotten sent twice, the site crashed down the first time)

You could find people you don’t know to read it. It’s one of the good things about the world online.

The idea of parents reading stuff you’ve written and finding out who you are or simply judging you is a really scary one. It was for me, and it took years to get to the point of, “ah fuck it. I didn’t write it for them.” For now just be proud that you got the words down on the paper anyway.

Eventually, you discover that the best stuff you do is written in the moments that you are proudly walking too naked in your story, that it’s okay for you to tell people who you are. But it takes a while to get there, and you have to walk through some scary places first, in the writing and in the letting people see it.

Remember that your family and your friends aren’t your audience. That may help. And I am sure other people on this thread will have terrific advice too.