An Essay About The Struggles Of A Wordsmith By Erica Livingston. Dear Reader, I trust you're doing well in this third month of 2020. The wind's been howling incessantly this year and it might very well drive me to madness. I've been struggling to find my words, not those needed for the creation of fictional characters who operate in their made-up worlds executing their tasks as outlined by me, their creator, but words to describe the consequences of being trapped in the perpetual cycle of rejection that comes with the pursuit of publication. For what is worth pursuing if there is no reward, no commission, no guarantee of success? So why do I do it? Because I do not know who I am if not a writer. I've been crippled by my desire to succeed. The loneliness that accompanies this effort of gaining recognition for my work, and ultimately becoming an author of fiction, a novelist, has been kicking me in the shin of late and I often find myself wondering if...