I tend to forget sometimes, but I am a published author   I wrote and did technical editing for several non-fiction computer software books.  It's a pretty cool feeling to go into B&N and see your book on the shelf.  They were all written as contract pieces which meant I got paid peanuts for them, but it looks great on the resume (I do computer work by day).  And LORD were they boring.  I also was a contributing author on a major computer website for a while, and I still write occasional articles for various sites.

On the fiction side, I sadly have not had the same success.  I've had a couple pieces of poetry published (mostly rubbish I think, but they got published!).  My efforts at writing full novels have failed.  I keep losing the thread of the story.  Lately I've been thinking about trying to focus on longer short stories to try and break through a bit.

-Paul Stansel

I've got this phrase I coined for my own writing... Page 49 syndrome.  It's not always page 49 of course.  But somwhere in that area I inevitably get stuck, and get stuck big time.  I can sit down and blast out the first 48 and then poof, I lose it.  Does anyone else have Page 49 Syndrome?  Any tricks to beat it?  At this point I'm sure it's just a psychological phenomena, but I feel it lurking as I slowly close in on it.  Gah!