Comparing oneself with one's fellow writers is a bad idea. I would not review a fellow writer unless I had something terribly positive to say.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
There are probably many, many people who are better writers than me.
I think that like all writers - and if any writer disagrees with this, then he is not a writer - I write primarily for myself.
By and large, the critics and readers gave me an affirmed sense of my identity as a writer. You might know this within yourself, but to have it affirmed by others is of utmost importance. Writing is, after all, a form of communication.
Many fiction writers write for the critics or for themselves; they forget the common reader. I never do. I don't think journalism clashes with my fiction; on the contrary, it helps enormously.
Writers have opinions - that, in part, is why they write. Therefore they have strong likes and dislikes.
It's weird being an author because it's different than writing songs. You put so much more of yourself out there to be judged because it's a memoir. So when the reviews come in, they all feel really personal. Some people are just going to hate you no matter what. Personally, I never believe good reviews.
I try to read writers who are better than me because it inspires me to be better.
I believe that, like most writers, my personality comes through in the fiction. So in that respect my writing can't be like any other author's really.
I don't really consider myself a writer.
All writers are the same - they forget a thousand good reviews and remember one bad one.