Embarrassed by my writing. Need advice.

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As the title says, I'm currently deeply embarrassed by my writing. It's at the point now where I can't actually make myself sit down and do more work on my story. All I find myself thinking about is what would people say or think if they read my work. Heaven forbid if I put something like romance in a story.

Does anyone else get like this? I'm not worried about whether people would think it's good or bad, but how they would see me for writing it, or judge my thoughts and emotions that inevitably end up in the story indirectly. It's totally killed my momentum. It feels like trying to walk down the street completely naked.

I commend you for writing a story! I've thought of doing the same for a long time.
I think you should just write the story the way you feel it should be written without regard to how people might react to it. Even if written from the AS perspective it will still likely appeal to all the introverts out there regardless of whether they have AS or HFA.

If you're really worried about it then after you're done you can have someone you trust review it and help you modify in any parts that people would not react to favorably. In most cases though as long as you set the stage in the story people will just go with it.

One of the things I believe people enjoy about reading is that it puts them inside someone else's mind. Forge ahead and see how you feel about it when you're done; you can always edit it later.

Good luck and congratulations for setting out to write a book!
JD

The problem of the internal censor is a hard one to deal with.

Perhaps something that might help is to give yourself an exercise that you do before starting your work on a specific project each day. This is to write a few paragraphs of anything and everything that comes to mind. Write it down, no matter what it is. It can be gross or pornographic or just flat out boring, but spill it out and if you don't like it, you can delete it or burn the page or whatever makes sure no one will ever see it.

The point of the exercise is just to force yourself to defeat your internal censor for a bit. It is hard to completely subdue it, but if you can develop a habit of allowing yourself the freedom to write without any limits for a few minuts, you might be able to free up your other writing as well. With practice, you may find that your censor does not come up too often anymore.

Good luck.

A pen name, like Samuel Clemens using 'Mark Twain,' gives people a layer of protection and permission to take chances (even if that chance is to risk being boring, which is part of it, too).

I am reading Lynda Barry's book of cartoons "What It Is" and she says this:

Some writers have several projects going on at one time. Others have one main project they are working on. And both are perfectly valid ways.

In fact, I think even the same writer can alternate between these two methods, at times having several projects, at times focusing on a main one.

I am plagued with the very same problem. When I write something, all I can see is the inferior quality of my writing, even if it's just an early draft, which is supposed to be crude. If anything, I am by far my severest critic, and I find myself shelving projects, if not giving up on them entirely.
My only suggestion is ( and I need to listen up, as well), don't be afraid to write badly - in the early stages. Get the story down either on the computer screen or on paper, then worry about ironing out the problems in later drafts.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Don't be afraid to show your personality. Try to use your creativity and imagination. Just be yourself. No one can judge your writings until he or she will write better. You can use your personal style. Try to be opened. Keep writing!