What's missing

I've taken a long loooooong break from writing, mostly out of lost inspiration. Though now I've decided to keep going with my stories and plan on updating chapters as soon as I can, there's still something I feel is missing. To be honest, its a feeling not many people actually want to have and its something I've haven't had since I've actually started. Criticism. In a way its sorta strange to ask for this but at the same time this is completely normal. For the time that I felt confident in my own writing, that feeling starting to fade when I realized in the end the only thing I was receiving was thumbs ups and downs. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate anyone who decides to even give my writing the time of day and all the conversations that were sometimes sparked at the end of some chapters, even if they don't like it in the end. My gripe however comes from lack of criticism. I do enjoy the people who stick around and compliment my work, that's always a good feeling. I do get annoyed by the minimum thumbs down I get because of the fact they get to run off with a dislike without really stating why. Though now I'm starting to realize that I'm not getting that from either side. Now this isn't a jab at the people who actually tolerate my work, but more on the fact that no one really has anything to say about my stories from a critical standpoint.

I'm not searching for pity, nor do I want endless praise. Above all that, all I'm really looking for is criticism. At the end of the day, only the readers can really tell me my faults and strengths and what I can do to improve. I can read my own stuff all I want, but I only keep thinking that for the most part nothing is wrong with it besides a few grammar errors here and there. I don't care if people hate it and criticize or love it and criticize, but with criticism I can grow, adapt, change for the better. For a while now I felt my writing is just stagnant, and its not really going anywhere in terms of quality. I already know a few of my weaknesses like missing words or grammar issues, that I already know I need fixing. But the way I tell my stories and how they're portrayed are what I'm really look for. How well do I flesh out my characters? Is the way I write my stories too repetitive? Do I just seem to rush things? These are the questions I ask my self every time I start a new paragraph, let alone a new chapter. That, combined with some writers block, typically have my chapters looking look this for a few weeks when I'm writing them.

None of these question has really gotten an answer so far, so I kinda feel like I haven't evolved one bit.

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TL'DR

Anyway, besides that, another chapter for Star Wars should be here soon with Kingdom Hearts coming up next. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you continue to enjoy my stories.