I am not going to lie, being a writer and asking for opinions is gruelling. At first, I asked anyone I could for opinions, and what happened was this.
My head rotated on my shoulders so hard that it flew off, rolled down the hill and then that was the end of me...and my head.
Ok...ok...maybe a slight exaggeration!
I became increasingly confused. Why?
Because everyone said different things, and one thing that I have had to do is figure out who can help me the most constructively, and most importantly, support me to grow.
I don't like confrontation and I have not mastered the art of having a rhino skin just yet, but I have developed a system of asking a select amount of people for constructive criticism. People I trust to give me the right direction, even if sometimes it can be a little brutal.
My point is this...if you ask for too many opinions from a variety of people, the chances are you will get confused by the responses. Be selective on your 'critiques' and from people who are in the know. Watch out for people who are pretentious know it all's. If they are too busy stroking their own ego they won't have time to stroke yours (as the actress said to the bishop!)
If you do the above you will keep your head firmly on your shoulders.