How do I know if it's any good?

[Thatwouldwork]

Apologies if this has been covered before, but I have a very basic question.

I have always 'scribbled' but only for myself and this is sometimes on paper, sometimes notes and jottings or just imagining scenes in my head.

How do I know if what I have is any good / publishable?

No one has ever seen my stuff, and I don't have the confidence to share it. To be honest, I write notes, chapters, ideas and then shred them all because I think it might be rubbish.

Does anyone have pointers as to what a good piece of writing is?

I know this sounds silly written down. I am an avid reader and know what I enjoy, but for the life of me, how do I get my ideas across?

You could join a Facebook group called Writers' Group - they offer advice and critique?

I hadn't thought of that, pink, thank you for the suggestion!

You are very welcome!

You have to find people in your target audience and ask them to read your book!

betty, I wish! Total lack of confidence is holding me back, although I have seen a link to Get Black on White on another thread, which I'm also going to take a look at.

I use Scribophile

It's more anonymous than facebook. I was mostly expecting to get critiques that said roughly "don't bother" but got some lovely comments, and I've made some good friends there too.

That looks promising, Witchend.

I'll definitely take a look, thank you.

I may be a while .

You can post up to 2 works at any one time for free. But I lasted about a week before I decided it was worth paying.
I think it was about £65 a year, but definitely worth it

Thank you!

step away from the shredder!!!!

most people online who offer to critique your work probably can't string a sentence together. harsh, but true.

I suggest you offer to read other people's stuff, first. I offer to 'beta', aka, read novels for people who think they've got stonking, ready to publish material, and it's been a revelation. I now know that most people who think they're going to write a great novel and earn pots of cash are deluded wankers, which cheers me no end. If that's the competition, right..? hahaha

real world writing groups are the same: often resembling some inpatient psych facility, with loads of deluded cretins telling you how to write, and how not to, when none of them have a clue themselves and can barely spell their own names. hahaha.

look at other people's work, first. Are you better than them? You might be. Costs nothing to look, right? So, go and look, kiddo. I bet you'll be surprised how shite other people are....