hi kathleen! welcome to the boards!
looking forward to seeing some of your writing, especially if the talent runs in the family.
as for criticism, well, we'll see. generally, you get more encouragement than criticism here, imo, although people will make small-scale suggestions if they come up with something and if the author seems amenable. just something about criticizing someone in public, i guess. if you want real constructive criticism, i'd suggest looking for a beta reader first (just post asking for one in the "fanfic related" section saying you're looking for a BR, and maybe add a bit of general info about the story).
i have to say, though, that "mom's too nice to give me good constructive criticism" is a great attitude.
oh, and much as i love these boards and folcdom in general, i'll also have to warn you that comments in the original fiction forum have been fairly sparse as compared to comments about l&c fiction. these are, after all, primarily l&c fic boards.
still, i hope you have a good time and a positive experience. folcs are really cool people. we have some very good authors among us, wide and varied knowledge and skills, and a lot of very friendly people.
so, welcome, have fun, and best of luck.
Paul
