I've been rejected TONS of times. Trust me. My favorite one was for a short story I wrote. They sent the comments that the editors gave along with my rejection. One actually said, "I'm not sure why the writer thought anyone would care about this." OUCH!! That one really hurt. I don't submit to them anymore.
Does anyone feel like giving up??
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I've been rejected TONS of times. Trust me. My favorite one was for a short story I wrote. They sent the comments that the editors gave along with my rejection. One actually said, "I'm not sure why the writer thought anyone would care about this." OUCH!! That one really hurt. I don't submit to them anymore.
Gypsy:
You're right. Writers DO notice things that non-writers don't. If I give a story to a friend or relative, they say, "It's great." That's all the feedback I get. If I put it online for other writers to read, they say, "It could be better. Let me show you how." I really appreciate that-don't get me wrong. It's just hard to take sometimes, you know? Anyway, feeling better today. Making progress on the thorn in my side. I look forward to the day when it's amazing, not just okay.
You're right. Writers DO notice things that non-writers don't. If I give a story to a friend or relative, they say, "It's great." That's all the feedback I get. If I put it online for other writers to read, they say, "It could be better. Let me show you how." I really appreciate that-don't get me wrong. It's just hard to take sometimes, you know? Anyway, feeling better today. Making progress on the thorn in my side. I look forward to the day when it's amazing, not just okay.
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Every single day.
I keep writing because I love to do it and I honestly don't have anything better to do.
I don't know how one can tell if they're any good or not because I'm in the same boat. But at the very least, the fact that you're wondering if you're any good prevents you from becoming that person on American Idol who thinks they rock when they just suck.
Yeah, I think you know this, but I made that one up. I was exaggerating-as we all do so well as human beings-to make a point.
I did. It was a wonderful exaggeration. 
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Kristi, yes, I have felt like giving up at times. While I am published, I'm not a book author, and I think I have given up on pursuing book authorship for now--for a lot of reasons, but basically because I'm not willing to pay the price after learning more about that over the last 4 years. It's not that I feel defeated by it so much as I am not convinced that that's a good 'fit' with me, personally. I'm ADD (I like smaller projects), and I'm not at all interested in marketing or having to promote what it is I write (or developing a platform--pursuing the speaker circuit, for example). So I guess what I'm saying is, that 'giving up' feeling is not necessarily a bad response, but you have to look at it carefully. Sometimes it's just a gut feeling that some aspect of what you're doing isn't working well for you, or isn't a good fit with your talents/abilities/interests. Maybe it's that you need a genre change, or you need to do a different type of writing. See if you can analyze what part of it is discouraging to you and why.
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Exactly!
Whenever you feel down (and we all do sometimes)- remind yourself of what you just wrote.
And feel free to vent whenever you need to. This is the perfect place because we all understand.
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does anyone feel like giving up?
Always. All the time. It's with me like the dark angel on the shoulder.
But, giving up on what? I'll never give up on writing, I'll always write and never give that up.
Giving up on trying to be published? Yes, I can see that taking place for me. But never writing itself.
Always. All the time. It's with me like the dark angel on the shoulder.
But, giving up on what? I'll never give up on writing, I'll always write and never give that up.
Giving up on trying to be published? Yes, I can see that taking place for me. But never writing itself.
Maybe I should use that great exaggeration for a picture book, huh?
I would be surprised if there was anyone who didn't, at one point, feel like giving up.
What keeps me going? Knowing that this is what I love to do. And for me, I never feel like giving up writing. Even when I don't feel like working on my WIP, I'm writing something. A poem, in my journal, a letter, my blog...I'm always practicing and writing and learning.
For me, sometimes, I feel like giving up on the "Get me published!" process. It's so frustrating and long and drawn out. Query over and over and over...wait for a response, query some more. I hate it! And it's so easy to let that slide. That's when I feel like giving up - not on the actual writing but on ever getting published.
But then I think about how I would feel seeing my book on the shelves.
And how the people who have done me wrong will feel seeing my book on the shelves.
What keeps me going? Knowing that this is what I love to do. And for me, I never feel like giving up writing. Even when I don't feel like working on my WIP, I'm writing something. A poem, in my journal, a letter, my blog...I'm always practicing and writing and learning.
For me, sometimes, I feel like giving up on the "Get me published!" process. It's so frustrating and long and drawn out. Query over and over and over...wait for a response, query some more. I hate it! And it's so easy to let that slide. That's when I feel like giving up - not on the actual writing but on ever getting published.
But then I think about how I would feel seeing my book on the shelves.
And how the people who have done me wrong will feel seeing my book on the shelves.
Maybe I should use that great exaggeration for a picture book, huh?
psssst, remember no drinkin', no swearin', and no fornicatin' 
I disagree. Even when I think I'm giving up, those darn characters keep on jostling around in my head, vying for attention, trying to give me their stories.
Perhaps even more so when I think I'm giving up.
I often like to pump out something tiny. But I hear it can make you go blind.
(Too much?)
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I feel like giving up all the time. In fact, I give up every night when I go to bed then I take it back up again in the morning.
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