I agree that we often don't hear about the 'kept failing' path of, presumably, the majority of would-be writers. For me, writing is a very frustrating drive...

I agree that we often don't hear about the 'kept failing' path of, presumably, the majority of would-be writers. For me, writing is a very frustrating drive... I've been writing novellas and short stories fairly seriously for about thirteen years now. About a year ago, when evaluating what I want to do in life, I decided to finish a novel. I've started quite a few over the years, but they always peter out in the drafting phase, so I decided this time to approach the task with a "finish it no matter what, no matter how bad the finished product is" approach. The trouble is – I still dream of getting published, of becoming a published novelist, despite my rational side knowing: (1) I'm not that good at writing, and (2) even if I were, it's very difficult to succeed (not just financially) as a writer. This is why I say writing is frustrating. I can't really give it up – not the activity of writing itself, nor my unrealistic dream – and yet I know it's essentially a lost cause.