Dreams –Not The Night Time Kind

          Do you have dreams? Not the kind you have at night while snoozing away, but real dreams. And I’m not talking about daydreams or fantasies. Not those thoughts about something you probably will never do or be like a multi-national CEO with a multi-million dollar golden parachute, or playing for a pro ball team, or being the first man/woman on Mars (though if those are your actual real goals and dreams, go for it!).

          Most of us have those fantasies and far-away dreams at times.

          But what I’m talking about is those dreams of how great life can be, dreams that keep you striving and moving forward.

          As kids many times anything seems possible. With the vitality of youth they visualize the future, a great and shining place where they accomplish what they dream, but somewhere along the line all of us seem to lose that ability and we narrow our focus to our jobs, our responsibilities, what’s expected of us.

          But it doesn’t have to be that way. The dreams we dreamed as kids are still alive and the universe hasn’t changed that much so they’re still dreams that can be realized. They’re within the realm of possibility. Sometimes we have to realize that we can get so busy doing what he need to, making a living, that the dreams shut down.

          Am I a ‘dreamer’?  Yes, in that I never stop moving forward, never stop thinking about what I want to accomplish next.

          This is life folks. We aren’t just all marking time waiting for it to start. It doesn’t matter your age. Life needs to be greeted as an exciting adventure. The path you choose, something that feeds heart, soul and mind.

          I don’t have to write a tome on this to inspire you do I? Just suggest that now might be the right time for you to think about all those dreams. To sort through them, to find your place and really live life.

          I happen to be a writer. It’s what propels me forward. 

          Maybe you love it as well, or maybe you want to be an architect like Frank Lloyd Wright, or a famous brain surgeon, or someone who makes a difference in the greening of the planet. Or maybe you want to pursue any of thousands of  inspiring dreams.

          Look inside and take a step in the direction of those dreams.

          Do it now.

Writers & Readers Websites Wednesday

 

Today I'm going to kind of turn it over to another blog - Where Writers Win. They have a great page offering the seven most useful writing Apps for writers for those of you who use lots of apps. 

Hey, you're a writer? There's an app for that! Pretty minimal cost or free.

Reader inspired to have a go at writing? Grab an app. 

Following Your Own Writing Trail

As a writer you hear all sorts of advice about outlines and formulas, how to do it, how not to do it. Oh, and above all, don’t follow those rabbit trails, stick to your story. Cling to your outline, don’t deviate!

What? 

All right, come on. Isn’t following rabbit trails, getting off the path, the very essence of creativity? That which will help create an exciting, twisting tale. That which makes the storytelling, the exploration fun and exciting. 

Forcing yourself to ‘stay on track’ is a form of idiocy as far as I’m concerned. My first books were written entirely without any outline at all. Now, I write a simple one, but it’s meant to be for basic markers, a place to start from the center so I have a few ideas of where I’m going. They change, believe me.

But the divergent trails of discovery continually beckon and I continually change course so my story grows organically out of the foibles of the characters, the unexpected twists of events, the impact of outside forces. 

You might be writing along and spot one of those fun little trails that you follow in your tale thinking it just won’t lead anywhere in particular but then, suddenly the clouds open and the sunshine pours through and that side trail lights up into the superhighway of your story. Suddenly everything you had in mind earlier changes and your story takes off in a totally new and breathtaking direction. 

I’m mixing metaphors here, but seriously, could that even happen if you were faithfully sticking to the outline you started with? If you were ignoring or discarding new ideas simply because they don’t fit that original framework you began with? Rigidly holding yourself to our originally idea only because it WAS your original idea? Don’t you think if you stick inflexibly to an outline that your story might well be perceived as being artificial? Formulaic? Well, boring and predictable?

Writing a story is a journey of discovery. Serendipitous discoveries can abound if you just give yourself the chance. After all, even rabbits go somewhere. Their trails are just that – trails to somewhere. 

So don’t listen to what you ‘must’ do. Find your own way. Lay out a few ground rules and markers for your story, then give yourself freedom and explore all the hidden nooks and crannies of that story. Wander about aimlessly at times until you find that golden path. 

Oh, and have fun!

Writers Websites Wednesday - & Readers Too!

This week I found Authors Helping Authors or Aha!  It's a great little resource sit for writers where you an poke around, find popular links, archives and search categories for tips and helps you might find useful. Generally helpful and interesting. Tips, inspiration, editing, you name it. A site definitely worth wandering in.