IWSG: Dreaming

Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the July 5 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre!

July 5 question - 99% of my story ideas come from dreams. Where do yours predominantly come from?

I have crazy dreams that I don't remember ten minutes after I wake up. My ideas come more in that in between time when I'm just about ready to go to sleep. Not just story ideas. Character names have popped into my mind as I'm drifting off. I wouldn't say 99%, though. Maybe 70%. The rest come from books, movies, newspaper stories, and heaven only knows where,

Where do your ideas come from? 

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today. 

#IWSG: My Writer's Dream

Happy Insecure Writers Support Group Day. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world!

The awesome co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG are Tonja Drecker, Beverly Stowe McClure, Nicki Elson, Fundy Blue, and Tyrean Martinson!  Thank you so much!

December 4 question - Let's play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream? Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?

If I was living the dream, my income would overshadow my social security. My name would be recognized and not just in west Michigan. Readers would flock to my booksignings and/or craft shows. No, wait. I wouldn't have to do craft shows to sell my books, since they would be readily available in bookstores. I could afford to pay someone to do all my promotion so I could spend my time writing. My income would pay for that Alaskan cruise I've been planning for over 20 years.

Obviously, i haven't realized my dream...yet. I'm happy self-publishing, but it does have its drawbacks--distribution being a biggie. If I were to do it over again, I would've started sooner, even though I don't regret the time I spent volunteering for my kids' school, scouts, and church activities. I still need to spend more time writing.

What does your dream look like?

On a side note, last month, I mentioned my husband's health problems. We had good news yesterday (after 2 medical procedures), the lung doc is recommending to the cardio team that he's good to go for the valve replacement. We just hope the cardio team agrees, and it can be done soon. Whew.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays . . . however you celebrate. 

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

Dreams

When Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech back in 1963, he was talking about a big picture. Equality and justice. A worthy dream. One we're still striving for. We all have dreams. Some big—world peace—and others small.

“A dream is a wish your heart makes.” Think about how true that song from the Disney movie Cinderella is.

Realists scoff and tell us to stick to reality. That dreams can lead to disappointment. But if we don’t have dreams how sad our lives would be. At the beginning of each year when we write out our goals, aren’t we talking about our dreams?

When I was a kid, I daydreamed . . . a lot. My imagination knew no bounds. I dreamed about having a glamorous job (a translator at the United Nations) a husband and children. Personal dreams. I did find a husband (or he found me) and not only do I have children but grandchildren, too. I never dreamed that I would be an author.

Some dreams don't come to fruition (I never made it to the UN). I dreamed of international travel. While technically going to Mexico and Canada could be defined as international travel, I dreamed of traveling farther afield. That doesn’t mean dreams have no value. Without dreams, our lives would be so mundane, even depressing. We would have nothing to reach for. 

We can dream of world peace, equality, justice. Will those dreams come true? You never know.

What dreams did you have? Did they come true?

Dream Job

In a recent article in Space.com magazine, I read about a guy who attained his childhood dream job—NASA pit crew. Since he was five years old, Joshua Graham wanted to work on astronaut spacesuits. Twenty-four years later, he landed his dream job. http://www.space.com/21557-nasa-childhood-dream-job.html?cmpid=527258

While I found the article about what he did to achieve his dream, I kept thinking how similar it was to my character Scott Chirella in Switched, Too. Scott was a year older than Graham when he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up—an astronaut. Through circumstances, some of his own making, Scott got so close then lost out. Imagine coming so close to achieving your dream only to lose it. Disheartened, he returns home and gets another chance.

This made me think more about dream jobs. We all have them. In high school, because foreign languages came easy to me I wanted to be an interpreter at the United Nations. When I mentioned my dream at home, my father shot it down. Do something safe, he said, like being a teacher. I must not have wanted that dream job badly enough because I became a teacher. I did what was safe. I didn’t take the risk of not only defying my dad but going after what I wanted. Much later, I found out that Dad wanted to be a doctor. Because of the Depression, there was no money to send him to medical school. Instead, he became a tool & die man. A safe job.

About twenty years ago, I decided to write romance novels. Despite rejection after rejection, I kept at it. When I got discouraged, Hubs urged me not to give up. My kids who were in college at the time, were also supportive. My friends in my local writers’ group (Mid-Michigan RWA) kicked my butt and said things like “don’t you dare give up now.” I’m so glad they did. While I gave up on a childhood dream, I’m doing my later-in-life dream job.

What was your dream job? Are you doing it?