and i took the time to read and re-read and re-read and come up with some solid analysis and sent it back to her. she thanked me and that was that.

apparently, my critique--particularly in the questions i asked her regarding WHY she was doing the blog--put her in some sort of creative space where she couldn't bring herself to continue writing. i guess she was overwhelmed and maybe a little discouraged.

it's funny because when you have academic training in a creative field, a lot of it is critiques/workshops and it's hardly ever malicious but it's often brutal. i myself LOVE a brutal critique. this is the culture that i come from and anytime i give any advice or critique, i'm going to approach it coming from that culture. i gave her what i would have wanted for myself, but i guess it was too much.

i'm just bummed out that my comments discouraged her from writing. super bummed out. i never want to be that person that influences someone to step away from their own creativity. at the same time, she essentially got some free advice from an expert. so there's that. just a wack situation all around.