As a writer, one thing I value the most is the creative process. Brainstorming an idea for a new story ­— be it fiction or news — planning a script, or just sketching out some character ideas are some of my favorite ways to relax.

I assume that a lot of other creative people — or for that matter, anyone who has ever had an idea — feel the same as I do about this. But there is one aspect of the creative process that I have a hard time doing: talking to others about my ideas.

Talking to people. When has that ever been something scary? The first time I felt shy around others when it came to my writing was in a creative writing class, my sophomore year of high school.

My teachers reading my work and talking to me about it? Fine. My peers reading my work and talking to me about it? Absolutely not. I could feel myself blushing every time we had to share our story ideas with classmates, and I was almost sick when we had to let others read our finished stories.

Over the years I’ve gotten better at letting my peers read my nonfiction essays or my news stories and telling me what they think of them, but when it comes to fiction, I won’t even let my own mother read what I’ve written. What a detriment to my creative process that is, and to anyone’s creative process.

The toughest part of letting others look at our work is that they’re going to critique it. Critique. What an awful, scary, dirty word. Someone is going to look at our hard work and rip it to shreds. And they might. We have to remember one  thing, though: if they’re a good critic they’ll tell us what we can improve upon (hopefully in the nicest way possible), but they’ll also tell us what we’re doing well.

A perk of actually discussing your work with someone is that you get to look at it from a different person’s perspective. That old phrase “two heads are better than one” is somewhat true.

You don’t have to subscribe to it when you’re working on your project, but you should subscribe to it when you’re looking for ways to improve your work.

Friends, peers, parents, etc. might know a little bit about something you’re incorporating into your work, and thus they can give you a hint about how to improve what you’re working on. Also, don’t fret about someone stealing your work. The chances of that happening are slim.

I’ve found if you’re worried about someone seeing your creative work, it’s best to leave them to their own accord to do it. If you stand there while they critique your creative work, you’ll get nervous. If they know you well, they know you’re getting nervous, and they’ll want to treat whatever you’re having them inspect with kid gloves.

There’s a chance your reviewer won’t be completely honest with you, and you don’t want that. Take a couple days to let them casually review it, away from you.

Next time you find yourself with a creative dilemma, get a second opinion. Take your work to a trusted friend, relax, and let them review your work in peace. You’ll come out of it with a fresh perspective, and hopefully a little more confidence when it comes to having your work critiqued.