No objective critic can subjectively judge my writing. (Or vice versa.)

I think taking so much time off writing has given me a fresh perspective. I'm not saying I was in a rut, but I was definitely tunnel-visioned on each project as I went along.

Mostly, I see even more clearly that I can write whatever I want. The world is my oyster.

Not to say I can succeed at everything I write. In hindsight it's clear that not every premise pans out. In some cases, I just don't have the skill or experience to pull it off. In other cases, there just isn't enough new in the premise to interest people. And finally, there are premises that I think are great, but even before I start to write them, I realize other people probably won't be as interested.

On the other hand, some premises come out even better than I expected.

When I started back up, I gave myself permission to write everything that occurred to me. I don't think this was the wrong approach, and I certainly finished a bunch of books. I learned with each book. But there is limited time, and I need to probably start to narrow it down.

I still want to write my big EPIC TRILOGY--each book a few hundred thousand words long. Put my stake down. That doesn't mean anyone will notice, but they really won't notice if I don't try.

Meanwhile, I'm also giving myself permission to write shorter books. The Eden trilogy will probably all be smaller books.

The biggest thing that has happened is that I've relaxed into the process. That is, I'm not second guessing myself as much. If it feels right, then that's the way I do it. There is no right or wrong way. There is no objective critic who can subjectively judge what I'm doing on a quality scale or vice versa.