Insecure 21-year-old poet blames 22-year-old friend for her critiques: 'Maybe you're just less qualified to judge writing'

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Mar 5, 2026 3:00 PM EST

As a budding writer, this poet is quickly baffling all his friends. He doesn't want praise, or criticism, but a secret third thing that even he isn't sure about.

Going to your peers for help with your writing is a solid idea. There are classes for it, actually. At a lot of them, you can bring a work in progress and read it aloud for a group of other writers. Everyone then gives their inputs, shares their favorite parts, and gives a bit of advice on aspects of the piece they'd tweak.

This is subjective, though — everyone has different tastes when it comes to the writing styles they personally enjoy.

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via Curated Lifestyle

Poet sits by bright window while pondering and writing.
_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}
This person has been asking various people in his friend group to read his stories and poems, but he is awfully picky about how people are reading them. They're critiquing too much, they don't like the characters, they're “not qualified"… Sir, this is a Wendy's. Just let anyone read your work and see what they think! In general, your writing is either meant to be percieved by other writers, who can handle a little fanciness in your writing, or by regular people, who may need more guidance throughout the story. You don't need to be pretentious about it, though. Hearing your Dad or best friend's opinion on your work can be just as valuable as a professor's opinion. You need to know how that work makes them feel, what they recall from what they read, or what else they associate with what you wrote. Do they love the characters? Do they see their own struggles in the pages you've given them?
These things are all important, and yet this poet is treating his friends as if they're lesser than he is. Very impolite!
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There is such a thing as being overtherapised, and this guy so is. He speaks as if he's spent 10,000 hours with a therapist by his side writing down his every thought. What are you even talking about here, my guy? He has an ego alright, but just declaring that you have a narcissistic ego isn't going to win you many friends. They're not going to be any more excited to spend time with someone who belittles them just because he can explain why he's acting that way.
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He already gave you the answer — you shouldn't review any more of his stories or poems! He's being quite unkind, and even he doesn't seem 100% sure what reaction he's chasing.
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via Curated Lifestyle

Poet writes from a journal.
_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}