Writers have to get used to launching something beautiful and watching it crash and burn.

Any artist of any kind has to be able to stomach falling short of the mark, continually, in all kinds of ways. But perhaps especially when starting out.

the ages — “Life is life and fun is fun, but it’s all so quiet when the goldfish die.” ’ XVIII Captives

I diligently finished the thing, but it really didn’t work, so I ended up throwing it away. (I don’t know why it didn’t work! How can I know? What am I, a book coroner? I have no certificate for the cause of death. The thing just didn’t work!)