I meant to comment on your earlier post then I had to run out and poof it was gone -

External validation is a mean beast - sometimes you just have to write for the little girl inside of you and SCREW the public meanies who would never understand.

Also, a dear friend of mine frequently reminds me that writers are in the business of POLISHING TURDS - we turn dross into gold and all that - of course we produce the dross first after all, no dross, no gold... :)