Criticism is one thing — destroying someone’s creative aspirations is another thing entirely.
Grant Faulkner, the executive director of National Novel Writing Month, knows that all too well from personal experience.
He has managed to bounce back from a particularly nasty wound, though the doubt still creeps in from time to time, and has made it his mission to help others do the same.
Go to Jane Friedman's blog to read his story (which, yes, is also advertising his book of pep talks, but the post can certainly bring value on its own).