Dont give up. It may take time, but it is well worth it. I agree with Oneironaut. Questioning your surroundings is key. What I usually do for reality checks is read a piece of text (the title of a book, a road sign, a digital clock, etc.) and then look away for a few seconds and then look back. If the text changes, then you are dreaming. It is very difficult to maintain details like that in a dream. You may be able to read something once, but 2 or 3 times and it will morph into something else. This is a dead giveaway. The whole time you should be asking yourself "Am I dreaming?...how can I be sure?". If you do this enough times it will become more of an automatic instinct. Also, whenever anything out of the ordinary happens (loud unexplained sounds, flashes of light, a car crash, flying pink elephants, etc.) ask yourself if this is a dream and do a reality check. This is the main thing that has worked for me.

Keep in mind that you need to be getting good solid sleep. I would recommend setting an alarm for early in the morning (on a sunday) to like 5am. Wake up, eat breakfast, check your email or whatever for about an hour. Go to sleep for a few more hours. When you wake up the second time, do not leave the bed or move at all. Try to ease yourself back into the dreaming state and keep your mind focused on a particular scene or setting. If you get the timing right, you can fall straight into a dream state and go lucid. Since you are still somewhat awake, it is easier to retain consciousness (at least in my experience). I was able to have my first planned lucid dream using this method about 2 weeks after I started trying, but I guess everyone is a little different.

// cybereality