Kill the Muse

My half-sister called me recently. She decided she wanted to write something to get published. It brought a familiar memory back for me. The hopeful dreams of someone who hadn't really studied the realities of the publishing market. I was there once. What happens though, after years of working in the writing industry in one capacity of another, that we become jaded. Is it better to ignore the realities and shoot for the dreams? I mean, if you don't research, you can at least hold on to the dream, and keep working. You may stumble in the dark a bit more trying to get published, but the cynicism won't take over, and destroy the dream. I used to love fiction writing, but the realities of the publishing world crushed that. Of course, the need to pay the electric company, ISP, grocery store, and all of them with something other than hopes and dreams also helped shape a new direction in my writing career, but is it more fun? No, not really. Now it's a job, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I do miss the enjoyment of writing because I loved the stories. I thought it would never die, but you can kill a muse, it turns out... with reality.