Eight years ago when I first started writing, I refused to show anything to anyone. It was never good enough, or finished enough, or I thought that someone would make fun of it...

Then my mom started making me write for school. I had to show her what I wrote. Let me tell you, in those days I hated her red pen. I hated seeing the mistakes and errors, because that meant my writing hadn't been good. I didn't like admitting that something as close to my heart as my writing wasn't well executed. 

But slowly and surely, the red pen struck a little less and I gained a little confidence. At first, I only shared my work with a couple of close friends. They liked writing, but they weren't fanatical about it. But I wanted someone who understood.

Imagine my joy when my mom announced, "I talkd to another mom at the orchestra today, and guess what! Her daughter's a little older than you and she's as crazy about writing as you."

So I met Mary. Up to that time, she'd strictly written action/adventure, and I'd written fantasy. But shortly after meeting, I had an idea for a thriller, and she had an idea for fantasy. We eagerly plotted together wherever we were--at a party, in corners at orchestra--even in the back row of choir class.

But I was still scared stiff of having anyone I didn't personally know seeing my stuff.

That's where Apricotpie came in. My mom and I were browsing for homeschool resources for writers, and Apricotpie popped up on the computer screen. I lurked on the site for a while, devouring the stories and poems on it. Then, because I wanted to be a part of this fun homeschool group, I joined.

No one will believe how nervous I was when I first pressed "submit". I wanted others to see my work, to get honest critique from my peers--but I was scared that everyone would hate it.

I shouldn't have worried. I quickly developed friends on the site, and enjoyed reading and giving comments. For the late 3 years I've checked the site almost daily, not wanting to miss anything that anyone posts.

Because of Aprictpie, I've been able to move forward in my writing. I've been submitting stuff to publishers for some time now. Without Apricotpie, I wouldn't be successfully pursuing my dream of being a published author. I'd still be hiding in a corner, worried that my scribblings wouldn't be accepted.

So here's my heartfelt thanks to Ben: thank you for creating this site and doing so much for it and for everyone on it!

And my thanks for everyone else: thank you for your open, honest opinions, for reading my stuff, and for being my friends.