Loose Screw Blues

You know what’s a pain? Turning a screw into a wall and finding out what you thought was concrete and/or brick is plaster. Although my apartment’s walls are nicely painted and appear rock-solid to the naked eye and knuckle, I am finding its materials of construction would appear to be 90% plaster and spackle. I’ve researched the issue and tried using those plastic insert screws but the problem I’m having is that either the hole I drill is too large for the insert to fit snugly/effectively. Or, if the hole is just short of being too large, the insert won’t fit at all. Then when I try to gently hammer it in, it buckles or warps so there’s no way a screw could ever fit into the insert. Certain walls of mine are now more scarred and pockmarked than Manuel Noriega’s face. On the plus side, for these inept acts of home improvement, I’ve borrowed Kelly’s drill, the innocent email exchanges for which smacked of unintended innuendo. (“I also have a zillion bits and a screwdriver kit with this nifty poseable extension socket, so you can screw or drill in an area you can’t really get your hands in.”)