Correct - this is why I show my stuff only to people I trust and know in RL. Not because they are "merciful", but because I know them well enough and they know me.
You see, I believe stories "trigger" the inner worlds, imagination of the reader - so, I choose people, who have a similar world to mine. Therefore, I'd not place them into public.
Not criticizing your person, but there's an advantage to opening yourself to diverse opinions. I find that, if I feed my stories to people with views and interests too similar to mine, I'd only get empty yes-men praises. See, different people would be able to see my writing the way
I can't. They might be able to find that seam to poke at, and my story'd fall apart -- plot holes the likes of which you can shove an oliphaunt through, illogic that will make baby Einstein cry, and so on.
If you ask me about the archetype as I understood it: Sorry, I do not believe in faith for faith's sake or in a Goddess thanking this, but do I count? I don't think so, as it is Alrik's adorant and Alrik's Goddess and Alrik's idealism and finally, Alrik's story. And yes, I used these repeats on purpose now.
Oy, are we operating on the "It's his story, so he can do whatever he wants!" here? Okay, that may be true, but he also put his work up for public view, and while an author can write whatever the hell he/she wants to, no one's obliged to like it or view it the way the author wants the reader to.
