Here's one from Name Withheld. I don't think that's her (it's a lady) real name…
I appreciate all the advice you post to writers but most of it seems to be for those who are already in the field of professional writing. Some of us are writers only in our minds and dreams. I work in a store and I consider myself a writer who just hasn't been able to exercise that portion of her abilities yet. I've started writing a number of things but I find myself unable to finish material because I know it will just sit there on my computer or on my desk and not go nowhere. I'm sure that if someone gave me the opportunity to sell something and see it published, I could rise to the challenge. The problem is that I don't know how to get that challenge. Do you have any advice for me and don't tell me to just finish scripts and see where they go. I can't finish if I don't know they have a chance of going somewhere.
Well then, you're fooling yourself to think you're a writer. A writer finishes things…even things that never get sold. Every professional writer has things they've written that never sold or reached the public. In fact, we all have things we've written that upon reflection, we're very glad didn't reach the public. That script you're writing now may turn out to be one that will never sell but you'll never know that until you try, which means you have to finish it. As the saying goes, there are no great uncompleted novels.
I understand the obstacle presented by the knowledge that once you finish the thing, it may sit on your desk forever. I have a not-dissimilar problem from time to time when I'm hired to write a TV or movie script that I know or even suspect will never get in front of a camera. Even though I'm guaranteed my pay, it's tough to get over that I'm writing something no audience will ever see. In some ways, that's even tougher than when I was starting out and writing things with no prospect for a sale or even a reading. Back then, I accepted that as a stage every writer just has to go through…like a baseball player going through training and batting practice. There are few professions in the world — or at least, few in the creative area — where you don't start out in the wilderness.
So the answer to your question is: Yes, I have advice for you. Finish the danged scripts or forget about being a writer anywhere beyond your hopes and dreams.