Couldn't agree more on both points @damianjayclay.

In the situation which inspired this post, suggestion was made that chill out time would be good. That sparked a new escalation, so apparently wasn't well received.

I've had one piece critiqued at TWB. I submitted it with a lot of trepidation but the response really was great. The holes in the story were pointed out in as kind as way possible.

Had I chose to be defensive about my writing or took the comments personally, I could have perceived the comments as an attack. They were anything but. Putting aside any personal response, the comments were dead on and showed me weaknesses in what I had written.

I am working on making revisions and it will be resubmitted. Writing is a craft and can't be improved if I'm not willing to listen to input and work on learning the craft.