Are You Following Your Dreams?

The question is simple; the answer is not. I know of too many writers who have made excuses about their writing for many years.  I have heard some say that they can not afford to write because they have a full time job.  Some say that they have other things that they have to do before they can sit down in front of the computer screen and do what they love to do.  All of them agree that they love doing it, they love the ability to play with words, and they all would love to follow their dreams.

It is not easy to follow your heart when there are other voices telling you that you can not.  The best way to explain why you should follow your dreams is with a story.  Writing is about facing challenges and working through them and still following your dream. 

Writing and making money writing doesn’t happen overnight, but that doesn’t mean you give up, and there is more to a writer’s story than meets the eye.

There was a writer who loved to write when they were young.  They did it everyday, and they doodled and dreamed.  They weren’t very good at what they did, but they were encouraged to be social, to talk about what they wanted to do.  The only trouble was that this writer did not know what they wanted to do.  They did not like school.  They also faced stinging critiques of their dreams,from family and friends.  They cried each night because they did not know what to do.  They began to lose hope.

Over the years they stopped writing.  They went to college, and earned a degree in history.  They only wrote essays, and even then they got bogged down with doubts with fears.  They ‘understood’ that they were not a writer, but someone playing a writer.  They lost whatever hope to write that they had.  Whatever dreams they had they buried.  They knew that the dream of being a writer was not meant to be.

They stopped talking about what made them happy, they grew moody and sad, they struggled to enjoy jobs that made them money.  Then they happened to mention that they used to write a story at night to one very wise man.

He suggested that they take a writing course and see what they thought.  This would be writer did not think this was a good idea, what point would it be to write if they were not going to pay the bills?  What point was it to write if only one person read what they wrote.  This wise man insisted they sign up.  Thankfully they did.  This one university course would change them.

They learned to love writing again.  They would sit and write– partly because of the assignment but partly because they enjoyed it, and partly because they knew how to improve their writing.  Deep down they understood that they were following their dreams.  Maybe, just maybe, they would publish a book.  Unfortunately reality hit.  They had to go out and find a real job.  Then there was family commitments.  They still thought about writing, but not as much and they missed it.  They cried a bit when no one was looking, they missed something.

Then the wise man came back.  Although he was older, he once again encouraged that writer.  Publish a book, I’ll help you he told them.  The writer wanted to give up.  They could not write it.  Most people told them they were a poor writer.  That they should stop living a fantasy.  The wise man told them, try it one more time.

They did.  They worked hard at gathering this information.  They tried to silence the voices telling them that they did not have the ability.  They tried to work hard with the limited time and ability they had.  They found an editor who helped them.  With the help of these two people they finished the book.  Now, they had to get it published.

They did.  Their first book was published and they learned the value of following their dreams, even when every other person told them they should stop, that they did not have talent, that they should not continue.  They did.  Has it made them money?  Not really.  They followed their dreams, and that is what mattered.

It’s a interesting story, but not many tips on writing, I understand.  I am sure you are wondering if it is true.  I can tell you it is.

 I am that writer.  My book was published in 2011, and it is called In Search of the Lost Ones.

Now, I am going to ask you: Are you following your dreams?  Are you doing what you love?  If you are good for you, do not let anyone tell you that you cannot follow your dreams.