Yay! I've just finished a new story. I still have to type it up, as I have found I can only write in long-hand on that weird stuff - what's it called? o paper!! Shows how old I am. 
Having suffered from severe issues over valuing my work - panic attacks when I tried to write anything, even frequently destroying anything I did succeed in writing - for a lifetime, I am amazed at how it is now flowing. The reason is purely because I now make sure to surround myself with people who say nice things and encourage me in my writing, instead of people who ... well .. just don't. 

I have long since realized that creativity is like a very young child, it needs to be nurtured and sheltered and protected from abuse, until it's ready to stand on its own two feet. And I have slowly learned to do that - especially with my dance work. I am very careful about who I share creative ideas with. As dance is usually a collaborative art, it is essential to work with carefully selected people who will help rather than hinder. I have rarely found that among professional dancers, who let their insecurity and competitiveness get in the way of collaboration. My way of dealing with that was to decide, quite deliberately, not to be part of the professional dance world. I worked in the community with people who had no background in dance. Everyone i worked with was there because they enjoyed the experience for its own sake, and I was able to make work our of the pure joy of it. I never made a penny out of it, and was still a comparative unknown in Wales where I worked in Community dance for over 25 years. But I am proud of the work I made.
  
But it is a revelation to me to find that in the writing world too. To discover that there are people out there who will give good feedback that comes from a positive place, and not just from that competitive place that makes people want to pick anything to pieces before it is ready to be exposed in that way. I'm not claiming to write great literature, but writing (and keeping) my stories and poetry gives me great pleasure,and I owe it all to my generous and supportive friends out there. You know who you are!!!!  
I'll let you know when I have got my self-confidence enough to start to publish to Amazon. And I'll let you know the name of the new story when I have thought of it.