Yes, you'd think writers would be more supportive but those are variants on things I have actually heard from other writers! Most of the other writers I knew have left fandom/LJ/the internet and for all I know writing in general as something else not worth continuing to invest in. And you're right, it's finding the connections that is important.

But, much as I hate and despise the fact it's Tumblr, I have connected with couple of people there who are writing both fanfic and original works and having conversations with them recently has really helped me feel more positive about getting back to some longer original works at some point this year :)