This is for you

You, the one burnt-out on rejections, strung out on Coca Cola, pajama'd and bespectacled, hunched over your keyboard alternately banging away, wheedling the muse, cursing the heavens, or flopping desperately on the floor. The one with cheese crunchy stains on your cheeks and a pile of unwashed dishes in the sink. The one who waits all day long for a few hours at the computer, only to stare blankly at the screen. The one who cheers every time your document passes another thousand word mark. Who gets the best ideas right before falling asleep, then has to get up and type through the night. The one who dreams big and can practically see your name on the cover of a book, shining before you on a Barnes and Noble recommended table, with an Oprah sticker on the front, and that magical text proclaiming, "New York Times Bestselling Author." The one who can't count the number of times you've seen that dream deflate when you realize you can't even write a single sentence and freaking heavens why can't you just have an attainable dream for once in your life!!! The word junkie, the grammar Nazi, the bookstore browser, the blog reader, the wiki hound, the story dreamer, the tweeter, and the one whose fingers ache at the end of the day. The one who swings daily between self-loathing, despair and euphoria.

The one who lives in story worlds.

This is for you.

I feel your pain.

What are you struggling with right now?

Reader's log:

17. Dreamland - Sarah Dessen

18. Blood Tide - Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson

19. Delirium - Lauren Oliver