I find that my biggest problem with letting my friends read my writing is that most of them are not entirely honest with me. It's a really weird; there are things I can take criticism well on and other things I can't. Writing is, thankfully, one of the ones that I can take really well. I think this is because I have chosen writing as my career. My other hobbies, such as playing the piano, of composing songs here and there, I do not take criticism well on. I guess this is because I don't really care about being the best I can be with something that I'm doing just as a fun passtime.
    Writing is fun and I love it, don't get me wrong. I just take it more seriously than a hobby or other passtime that I enjoy.
    I want to be the best writer I can be... but if no one steps up and tells me how to be better, how am I ever expected to improve? Sure, reading helps, but it's not everything. Advice is crucial to bettering anything in life. I mean, you can take classes, you can practice a lot, and they all help, but really, what helps the most, is plain and simple... criticism. But, it only helps if you actually listen, take it into consideration, step back and see it, and then do something to change it, all with an open mind and without getting offended. It's a rather difficult skill to come by, but with a little hard work and determination, there's a lot to be gained by having it.
    I would like to thank all my friends, family, and fans who have been honest with me about my writing, while at the same time sweet and encouraging, pointing out the good they saw as well. To everybody offers up their best constructive criticism
    So a word of advice to all writers out there, listen when somebody tells you something that's wrong with that amazing short story, novella, novel, poem, song, or any other work of art out there. Accept what they say, and then work to improve that... then do the same thing with your improved masterpiece. After all, you never really finish a piece of writing, you just stop revising one day.