I know I always say I make stuff for myself, but saying it and doing it are two different things and I've found it hardest to decouple my writing from it. a big reason why I've read so many writing books has been to gaslight myself away from this. like, "oh, fuck this 19 point plot garbage, it's stupid," that sort of thing.

every terrible writing book convinces me no one really knows what they're doing because if they did, fiction wouldn't be nearly as garbage as it is now.