Live your Writing Dreams

I grew up in a family of practical pragmatic people. If they couldn’t see it, smell it, feel it, taste it or hear it, it didn’t exist. Imagination was useful only as a hobby. Whatever you received came only by working hard with your two hands. No Fairy Godmothers welcome!

Now, there’s nothing wrong with this philosophy. It works for many people and is a good way to live, especially when taking care of a family and dealing with practical things, like bills. But, it doesn’t grant much room for the development of poets or writers or dreamers.

And, they need to live, too.

I learned through hard experience that those with creative minds die when exposed only to harsh pragmatic reality. If a rose were planted in a desert next to a cactus, the cactus would thrive because its needs were being met, while the rose would die because its needs were not being met.

My point? Feed your inner artist by living your writing dreams.

This doesn’t mean you should throw away your car keys, pull on a backpack and head away from civilization, with only a journal and a pen. It means you should think about your writing goals and imagine yourself living them, now. What would it be like to sit at an author’s signing table and sign hard copies of your latest published novel? How would it feel to be called up to receive a writing award in front of your peers? Could ideas and words flow through you and onto the page, with ease and grace?

Opening your mind to these ideas is a great way to open your heart to living a more creative life. Put aside your pragmatic doubts. Live your writing dreams mentally and, eventually, you will live them in the clear light of day.