I know that person, so it's hard to say. But there does seem to be a fair bit of "Shouldn't I have succeeded by now?" in there. A feeling I know well at 51, combined with "It's not like I have a lot of time left to do this". Though Grandma Moses is an inspiration.

Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like it wasn't my post. Because it totally is...I just don't know how to summarize my writer-development type questions. I'd love to, you know, do the MFA thing, but nobody is going to pay, and to do that, you have to test, and be invited in, and all that. But I'd love to work with people who take craft that seriously...at the risk of sounding arrogant, I've outdistanced the technique advice I can afford. I've read Steven king bitching about all the TV kids watch today and telling me to read and write a thousand words every day(500 is still about the best I can do--no "Stand" for me, I suppose.It's okay, didn't even finish reading that one.) Connie, yeah, you're right, although it's not really about being a big star so much as feeling...unfinished. Like my novels, and my scripts, and whatever. I'm embarrassed about being the Rough Draft Queen.

I'm not sure an MFA would do you any good. I'm not sure it does anyone any good. The type of writing encouraged is generally very specific and very literary and not necessarily commercial.

I think what you need to do is keep at it, if you're serious. Finish the rough drafts, then edit them and revise. Or pay a developmental editor to give you a read and make editorial suggestions.

Well, if I were made of money, I might do it anyway. But, given that I'm way not(and probably carrying some misplaced, say, Mr. Miyagi fantasy into it) that's good to know. I mean, I guess I have shop-talk with y'all, and I don't have to go into hock for it..well, except for broadband, or whatever.

Oh, lord, the unfinished stuff. The great ideas that I stare apathetically at. The stories I re-read that are good that I just don't bother to finish. There are people out there who *want* me to finish things, but . . .

As for technique advice, I've read lots of books, and I finally got to the place where I think the most helpful thing is if I like it when I read it. If my brain catches on it, something's wrong. Fixing it, now . . . Fortunately most times the fix is obvious--a different word order, something like that. But sometimes it's not. sometimes it just needs to be completely redone.

I hate that I look at the screen and the endless enthusiasm for writing seems to be gone. Maybe I need to go back to a pen and a notebook, but my hands aren't up to it anymore.

It sometimes seems like I worry about my writing more than I do about my marriage. But comparatively, the marriage is easier.

Hey I wonder if anyone could take a look at something for me? Unfinished but ...

At this point I'm wondering if I'm rushing it. That is I know how the thing ends and so I'm advancing the narrative to that end. But I wonder if I'm not stopping to share enough of the world I built or explore the characters enough. On the other hand there are already some pretty good glimpses of the world and of the characters, so maybe my pace is good, and I'm just not unnecessarily padding it. I could really use feedback on that one point, though any other feedback is welcome too. Note that at this point the work is unproofread, so I'm sure there are howlers here and there.

The working title is "Deadlands". Penny struggles to survive in a world that has been transformed by the discovery that ghosts are not only real but can be materialized, controlled and enslaved. It is a bizarre world in which the the rich thrive while less and less is left for everybody else - completely unlike our own.

I'll take a look at it, Typo. It wouldn't be real fast right now, though, as I'm a bit loaded up.

I signed up to write the post for KosAbility this week(shockingly, the Daily Kos group about disability) and i'm not sure what to say about CP since my life seems short of, like,heartwarming tales of the human condition or whatever.But, you guys are kind of like Kos readers(in some cases, like me, you are) but you're educated, politically left, if not quite as inclined to attacks of pissiness about nothing...if there was something you wanted to understand about life with CP, what would it be?

The ways places can disabled unfriendly in an invisible way. My brother visited last week from Richmond with my sister-in-law. He is in a wheelchair, and I was amazed by how many places I thought were wheelchair accessible really aren't. And I know people in wheelchairs, but usually they pick the places where we meet, and my home is pretty wheelchair friendly. But all of a sudden I realized why they never pick certain places.

It's true that sometimes, a tiny feature can make a big difference. And you don't really need to pass any kind of standard to post that blue wheelie guy in your restaurant toilet(Of course, there are ADA standards for a bathroom to be accessible, but I think people don't know(hell,I have to look it up myself) and want to appear welcoming.