How Do I Know What I Think Until I See What I Say?

Recently, over at Fangs, Fur, & Fey, they asked the question about how to deal with the ups and downs of the writing life. They didn't mean, it seems, the day-to-day facing of the page that is writing, but rather the ups and downs of querying agents and trying to get a book published. Now, admittedly, I'm in the very beginning stages of this process, but there have been plenty of ups and downs already, and there are plenty of people I know who have been pushed out of trying to publish their books because of these ups and downs, so I have a teeny bit of experience here. This is what I have learned thus far about dealing with the ups and downs: 1. Stretch the ups as much as possible. When the writing is going good, when you get good news, when things are humming along, enjoy them. Talk about them to a few choice people. Note them in your journal (if you have one). Frame the acceptance email.* Don't move on to the next step without enjoying the current step a littl