Tough to stick with it, man, I definitely know. I don't think I could keep it together without my family backing me up. Sounds kind of petty in some ways, but I think it's perfectly honest and natural when putting oneself on the line. We are, after all, opening ourselves up to public approval or rejection, and having that constant slice of approval from our peers is necessary to bolster us, I believe. Strangers will usually be fickle in response anyhow .. we just need the basic platform to keep going. I don't think that's unreasonable

I'm kinda shocked that both you and Tom aren't trying to publish your writing. I don't consider myself well-read, though I do haunt the scifi section at the library here. The only way I can combat insomnia effectively is with reading, and I've read a LOT of scifi lately, mostly short stories. BOTH of you are definitely as good if not way better than most of the authors I've been reading. I'm serious.

I was talking with one of my cousin's husband recently at a reunion & this guy is a screenwriter. He said you've just got to bite the bullet both in terms of ego and finances, print off 100 copies of your story, get a publishing magazine (I'm a little hazy on this detail), and send out your story. He said that rejection is going to be VERY high, like expect 99% rejection. But that 99% rejection means you got a 1 percent acceptance. Got me thinking anyhow.