So I'm sitting here watching American Idol--my guilty pleasure--because I do get a kick of watching the bad singers. And I'm watching these people who come in and who are truly convinced that they're good singers, and of course 95% of the time they open their mouth and something screechy and horrible and off-key comes out.

And it suddenly occurs to me: We as writers are like American Idol contestants. The odds are about the same, there's almost as much competition, and yes, there are plenty of writers who are dead convinced that they're good... who just aren't.

Please, God.. Please tell me I'm not William Hung.