I used to believe that writing for an audience betrayed my authentic self (whatever that was). I was lucky, but also just a little screwed, to have wonderful teachers who encouraged me to write however I wanted, instead of reports on books you have to read for English class, with prompts like, “What is the symbolism behind Johnny shooting his dog?”, usually in that god awful five-paragraph style. Writing was the most fun when I didn’t have to worry about what someone else thought about my Goose Game fanfiction. I didn’t have to worry about people rejecting my stories.
