As a writer, receiving brutally honest, constructive feedback is incredibly important to
producing decent work.
Friends and family members are easy sources of feedback. If they’re not already willing to take the time to read your work, they can usually be convinced fairly easily. It’s also a lot less intimidating to hand over the product of your hard work to someone you know.
Just because this option is convenient, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
No matter how objective a friend or family member thinks they are, they’re still biased. Writers who are truly committed to improving their work will buck up their courage and hand over their draft to a complete stranger. Find a writers’ group that focuses on peer-review — not encouragement. Encouragement can feel great, but it usually doesn’t result in revision.
Constructive criticism probably won’t improve your self-esteem, but it can improve your writing if you’re smart enough to listen.