Is it normal to fear crititicism?

You can post them anonymously here and you'll be sure to get unbiaised opinions.

There will always be critics. You have to learn to take it with a grain of salt. Usually people are their own worst critics anyway. Not everyone will like what you've written no matter how good it may be. And what about constructive criticism? It can be quite helpful.

I make poems, too. The first few times I made them, I was nervous that no one would like them, but I gave it a try, and they liked mine. And it is not due to low Esteem
It's due to thinking that they will hate it, and insult you.

well believe me they will they will do all of what you said on here trust me i know so don't fuck your self over on this

Of course it's normal to fear criticism. No one likes to be told that they're wrong. However a please do try and not let it take over your life as having a fear of failure/crticsism can and often does hold people back. xxx

U shudn let criticism stop u 4rm achievn.I shud take my own advice.I write poetry 2.I've publishd a few bt im a bit scard 2 write somemore.Im intimidated by poets who r better.Sooner or later u realise uve gotta talent n u jus show da world 4 ur own satisfaction.Jus don giva damn.

It's normal. Nobody likes to hear harsh feedback from people, especially when it concerns something they take pride in. However if somebody is willing to give you constructive criticism, I would welcome it. You can improve a lot from that and so it's important to keep an open mind and not shut people out.

I feel the same way. I do not write poems on a regular basis and I think the only time I have ever shared one of mine was in a Freshman English class.

Due to my hyperactive behavior, people always just assumed that I was some retard. I wrote this poem as part of a class project thinking that I'd be embarrassing myself but to hell with it, right?

Before, I read it, I glanced around the room and saw people's faces and knew what they were expecting: some bullshit. So I started reading my poem, it was about a pilot, and when I finished, I looked around again and just about everyone had the expression on their face that I can only describe as seeing a damned ghost. They were stunned that someone like me could crank out something of any meaning.

The moral of this story is that you don't know how people are going to react. Yeah, some people may react negatively... some people don't understand the personal meaning that poetry has to it's creator, but you'll never know until you crank it out... yo.

As the Emperor Napoleon once said, "It takes mere weakness to throw everyone out and view man with scorn; but strength to love"

^I'm paraphrasing but that's the spirit of what he said.

And he's right. You fear sharing these things because of how close they are to you.

Well, poems are almost like a journal to me. I know I still have a hard time showing my work to people unless I'm very close to them.

Same is with me, i am an engineer graduate, but no longer interested in working in that field, i love poetry, play writing. Recently i wanted to join MFA in screenplay writing, but took that thought back coz i am worried about criticism.

Have them realeased after you're dead?

Well, if you start sharing your poems with a little more people you might get over your fear. There is no need to be shy or feel scared, if people see that you're doing something good for yourself and that you like it, there are eventually going to start to try to put you down. Don't let them. I'm pretty sure if your friends gave you nice feedback on them, your poems are completely fine.

You never know where your talents might take you.