Recently I was reflecting on my earliest childhood memories, including toddler playtime in an old worker’s cottage on my parents’ farm. In this cottage was a wringer washing machine (if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, Google it! :)) and that washing machine could be anything: a spaceship, a giant tub for making bread and soup, many kinds of vehicles and … well … a washing machine! (And probably much more that I can’t remember!)
Children have a remarkable imagination. Even at that tender age we were playing out the outrageously impossible. Consider how many children imagined things before they were ever reality. Electricity. Flight. Space travel. Computers. The most incredible achievements often began as an obscure, outrageously impossible dream that someone refused to give up on.
That’s how I got started on my first novel. It was literally a dream that I just couldn’t discard. So I wrote it down! Yet, those first sketchy pages outlining an idea were a long way (nearly a decade and a half) from the reality of having a novel nearing publication. For years I seemed to achieve nothing. Some attempts to progress yielded a larger stumble back. Many opportunities involved risking pride, were seemingly small and ultimately reminded me that I had a lot of work to do on my craft. That said, if I hadn’t taken those opportunities as they arose, even if it only served to point out where I needed to improve, I’m certain I would have never seen my work in print.
Never discount small beginnings.
The greatest beauty of my writing journey is being able to grow and learn with others. I have been encouraged over the years by amazing, talented and generous individuals with a vision bigger than my own – a dream that extends beyond self. They helped me fall in love with the shaping of prose and poetry over and again and placed value on my own tentative skills, cheering every small step forward. They valued and nurtured my dream.
If you’re a big dreamer, ensure you share your dream wisely. If you don’t have a dream, perhaps allow yourself opportunity to search for one. I know life can be crazily busy at times, but I truly believe everybody has a unique purpose and part of our life journey is discovering what that is. You might be surprised where the road leads as your dreams become reality.
