The Pleasure and the Pain of Writing

This past week I took part in a Teachers Write Camp and this spring I wrote every day for A Slice of Life for a month.  It made me realize how much I missed writing, but it also made me realize I have always written out of a need to express myself, not for an audience.  It hurts to put writing out there and to be ignored when it has been a soul sharing experience.  On the other hand, the sincere comments from a few people really meant a lot.  It almost seems that it is a bit of a popularity contest instead of a true sharing experience with feedback.  Some writers already know each other and so they joke and gush about their writing and other writers go comment free. (not just me)  So its like a clique, that some of us don't get into, and even at my advanced age that doesn't feel good. I am very particular about what I read in fiction:  Rumer Godden,  Josephine Tey, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlins, Wilkie Collins, Dorothy L. Sayers, Daphne DuMaurier and I realize these writers are all from a different era.  I also enjoy witty writing from my 2nd and 3rd graders though, so I guess I just march to a different drummer than the typical online writer.  I'm not sure I can share any more of my writing for a while, but perhaps just keep it here for myself.