Staying committed to your dreams is hard, especially when nothing is happening the way you think it should. Your process is too long. Feedback is mixed. LIFE constantly throws crap in your face. How the hell can you end up on top? Yes, I'm speaking from experience. Hair-pulling, head-slamming experience. In case you missed it, I've been at this writing thing for a long time. I've been with you, Lurkdom, for already six and a half years. In that time, I've trunked a novel, witnessed Nemesis self-publish his epic fail, and met tons of fantastic, committed writers who have pushed their way through the doldrums I'm stuck in. I've also watched a few of them pack it in, not able to deal with the heartache and frustration anymore. Even though the temptation to say "fuck it" and give in is so delicious, I haven't folded. Seeing my works in print is my dream. I work on keeping that in the forefront while I continue to query, research, write, revise...