To write, or not to write?

I woke up this morning with the desire to write a new story. All well and good I hear you say - isn't that what people on the WB course are supposed to do?

Yes, but......

I seem to wake up most mornings (or in the middle of the night) with the opening chapter of a story already writing itself in my mind. Unfortunately, I seem to 'run out of steam' soon after committing this to the PC memory. I have a collection of opening pages, but no proper work in progress.

I find myself wondering what the point of writing (or typing) the story out is when I know it probably won't get finished.

My WB assignments are no problem as far as writing them goes; my problem is in finding the markets required. As someone who doesn't read many magazines and who is a little too old for the 'lad mags' I'm struggling to find magazines to write for. Without wishing to sound sexist, I think it's a lot easier for woman as they have a much wider range of magazines to work with (many aimed specifically at women in various stages of life).

The assignments I've had back have all been very positive and I received a confidence boost when the Chapter & Verse published my short article in the latest edition. the question is - am I a writer or a dabbler? The inability to complete any of my longer stories leaves me to wonder whether I just enjoy the act of writing more than the completion of the story....

As a child I wrote constantly - I was always scribbling stories for my brothers and sisters. In fact, a small bear became such a big part of our childhood that he re-appeared in a series of letters to my sister when she was ill in hospital during her pregnancy. That was twenty years ago and she still has those letters. The pleasure she still derives from producing those letters makes me believe I can create something with a broader appeal - I am just unsure of my ability to complete the task. My wife informs me it is nothing more than lack of self belief that stops me from completing these stories. She may be right. After all, until they're finished no-one can read them and tell me I can't write....

I'm going to sit down this afternoon and see if I can move forward on one of my stories - my wife wants to know what happens next - and so do I!