It's interesting, the difference between what we perceive about our creations vs. what others believe.
I've become a bit of a junkie for checking my Fanfiction.net traffic stats, and I noticed something interesting: My opinion of my stories and my readers' opinions don't always correlate. For example, the story that I think is the best story I've written, in terms of characterization and emotion, Life Ain't No Vid Game (Firefly), is actually at the bottom of the list in raw hits. As far as reviews go, it's somewhere in the middle, and it has no alerts and only one fav. On the other hand, my two most popular stories, in terms of raw hits, alerts, and reviews, are my two CSI: Miami WIPs. It's not that I think that those are bad - they're actually not. The exercise of writing a piece for every single episode of CSI: Miami (Unprocessed Evidence) is doing wonders for my writing skills and my ability to find something worth writing about. And A Burden Shared is my first slash fic and my first continuously chaptered fic, as well as being my first plot-driven fic. But they're both unfinished, unpolished, and just don't pack the emotional punch that Vid Game does.
It's just interesting, what traffic stats can reveal. Fortunately, while I enjoy and appreciate the validation that high traffic and plentiful reviews can bring, that's not why I write. I write for myself and for the characters. I share my stories as a way of sharing my vision of the characters and the worlds they populate. If people enjoy my vision, that's a welcome and appreciated bonus, but it's not vital for my survival as a writer.
These days, I find myself writing more than ever, despite a very tight schedule. Writing has become my number one creative outlet. Pretty surprising for someone who can't even diagram a sentence.