Hello Kiddies! We all have dreams, not only the literal kind, but the goal-oriented kind as well. Of course mine is to be a best-selling, famous author, with more money than I can spend! And a pool boy with no shirt! Excuse me---sorry---ahem.
Most writers just dream about becoming published. We all know naysayers who claim that we should think about something more practical and get the thought of a being a published writer out of our heads. Dreams are what keeps most of us going. The hope that we will one day achieve our goals. We have to believe our dreams!
Case in point: I live in the South, and there is this belief that if you dream about numbers, you should play them in the lottery; especially if a deceased relative gives them to you--it's a sure win! Er, yeah. I always thought that was so dumb. WELL, I dreamt that my dad (who is ALIVE and WELL) was going to loan someone some money; a few hundred dollars. I woke up the next morning, and thought nothing of it. I'm not a gambler anyway. Just for fun, I played the numbers a few days later (Pick 3 in S.C.) and won 40 bucks. I was really freaked out! Crazy, right? I trusted my dream, and it came through for me.
We as writers should trust our gut feeling and go with it. If you eat, sleep, breathe, and live for writing, then that's your dream and you should follow it. NEVER allow anyone to stifle your dream of writing, or any other dreams you may have! Keep writing!
12 comments:
I wouldn't want to know where I would be without my dreams. They're the drive that keep me wanting more. The reason I can sit straight up in the middle of the night with some new thought, throw the light on and write.
I hope all your dreams come true.
Great post, Tyhitia! My mother would have said you should keep that number in for at least a few weeks. And if a dead person had given you the number then you'd better keep it in a few months. LOL. I think there's a great story here with this one...I can see it now, a woman keeps dreaming the winning lottery numbers and winning. Everyone suspects some kind of fraud.... But, anyway, back to the writing part... You are so right. It is important to hold on to your dreams and keep trying to make them come true. Because they can come true. So, dream BIG! (And next time you dream some numbers hook a sister up so she can play them in NY. Girl, I could have used an extra forty bucks! LOL)
Gwyneth
For 22 years, it's been my dream to be a writer, since I was 6. I studied it in college. Now I work for an insurance company. But writing is still my dream. I lost sight of it for a while--I despaired, I guess you could say--before I realized that if I didn't start writing again, then it would never happen. I now believe that if you write, you're a writer. I write every day, and I'm doing what I want to do. Maybe I've only made $16 off writing in the last 6 months, but it doesn't matter. I'm doing what I want to do. I can only believe that by persisting, it'll pay me back in teh long run.
Nice story :) I can't remember who said it, but there's a quote along the lines of "a man's reach should always exceed his grasp," that I like to remind myself of when my dreams seem too far-fetched.
I agree with that ... to a point.
While I don't write specifically for the money, I do want to get to a point where I can do it for a living, not necessarily have more money that I know what to do with. That seems excessive.
I think the point you might be missing with some writers is that becoming published is a validation from others that their writing is good. Yes, we can all have the mindset that everything we write is gold, but the reality says different. My mother loves everything I write and she will because she's my mother, but I know that some of my work is garbage and merely written just to get the idea out of my head so I could move on to something else. I want others to love my writing, and getting published gets my work out to as many people as possible. The more I'm published, the more people see my work, the more they ask that I publish more work, the more publishers want to publish my work. That's the cycle. So yes, in a sense, getting published is important.
Writing and submitting allows writers to see how their work fares with others, because honestly, just claiming what a great writer you are without anything to back it up is delusional.
You may as well claim you climbed Mount Rainier.
Writing is nothing like playing the lottery - it's hard work and imagination rolled together to create something memorable.
Write because you love the words and write because you want to see other's read your work and genuinely love it.
One more thing - while it's lofty to say "never let anyone stifle your dreams" at some point please reconsider your life choices if someone says that writing may not be your forte. I used to know a guy wrote some of the most derivative and cliched horror stories. Awful, boring stuff. Recommendations to tighten up the story or make it original went unheeded until he decided I wasn't worth the friendship. Oh well. *tear*
Anyway, 20 years later he's still writing the same old crap, basically a broken person because he can't understand why no one like his stuff. Seriously. Not everyone is out to get you but perhaps out to make sure you don't embarrass yourself.
Lycan,
Thank you so much! I hope yours come true as well! :*)
Gwyneth,
Thanks. I will definitely hook a sister up next time.
Rob,
Persistence is key if you want to become a professional writer.
Naomi,
No dream is too big. Good luck with yours! :*)
Montilee,
You're correct that writers need validation that their writing is good. That's par for the course. As far as the lottery, I was not comparing the lottery to writing. I was referring to dreams in general; real and the ones that are goal-based, in relation to writing. Any writer worth their salt knows that writing every day and persistence are necessary. I wrote a post a few months ago encouraging the use of beta readers. We need betas who read in our genre, English progessors, professional writer friends, etc. They have been very useful to me, and all for very different reasons. As for your friend, he may know that deep-down, it is not for him. We all have to judge that for ourselves. I stick to what I say about not allowing anyone to squash my dreams. I've gotten several requests for partials and fulls just this weekend. Writing and reading are essential.
Well said. *smiles*
This is one of those career choices where you need to check back in consistantly with the spark that got you started in the first place!
Here in Puerto Rico we have the same believe - dream of numbers, play them in the lottery. I've been dreaming about this number for a few weeks now. I've played it in the lottery. So far, I've spent $100 and won $0.
Wander,
I completely agree with you. All writers need to keep in touch with the initial fire inside. Great comment! :*)
Tempest,
Girl, my number played twice more after my original post! Can you believe it? 3 times? Refer to what Gwen said above. Her mother told her that the number should be played for months down the line but $100.00 is a good chunk of change. Hopefully you'll win big!! :*)
This was a great, GREAT post. Not just for writers, but for anyone. Actors, athletes, singers, songwriters, comedians, even fields outside the entertainment industry. Our dreams push us toward what we want. They keep us from being fleshy rocks that never do anything but sit in a field crammed with other fleshy rocks.
David,
Thanks for the kind comments and for visiting my blog. I agree that dreams are applicable to all realms of our daily lives. As Aerosmith would say, "Dream On!"
So our dream of being writers (and published) is silly to some. So is a dream of being the next American Idol, or winning the lottery (even if you didn't get a dead relative's numbers.) Someone gets published, is the American Idol or wins that lottery.
Besides, what else am I going to do with my spare time? Watch paint dry? LOL. Great post.
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