Whenever you write, you bare your soul, telling a story, not necessarily yours, but one worth telling...
whenever you look for critiques, you must understand they (critiques) are objective, and sometimes people don't feel what you fealt when you wrote the song,. so, it stands to reason, that sometimes critiques won't be favorable... but the better the writer, the more those who read the lyrics will feel them.. that is a goal.
Like an artist, each creation is special, if only to the artist...
Collaberation... definately a good thing to do, but with an open mind... most songs today have more than 2 songwriters involved... I think 2 minds ARE better than one.. I just have to find the right people to collaberate with... everyone is appreciated, but not all mesh like gears, or blend like colors..