Inaugural Post - Dreams

Greetings!  You've entered my wonderful world of useless pearls of wisdom, though sometimes they just might be helpful.  I'm embarking on a journey that I've been thinking and dreaming about now for many years, probably since I was in junior high.  I've been enthralled with the many different worlds that I have had the privilege to be a part of over the years, thanks to the unbelievable creative minds of authors both living and deceased.  I've loved reading from an early age, and I still love to seek out the different, the fantastic, the unusual, the interesting, and everything in between.  I've learned that it's not just the big boys and girls who put out great stories; there are thousands of lesser-known authors who toil just as hard, and they need to be found by people like you and me.


Since I was a teenager, I've always wondered what a writer is like, what makes them tick.  I had this sense that they had magical powers, or somehow had access to an exclusive place that most others did not.  They were like the shamans of ages past, people who were needed and feared at the same time.  They seem to have control of the universe, and could make things happen when and where they wanted.  And while I was in awe of them, I also wanted to be like them.  Ah, well, it was not to be, for they had the secret handshake, the special key, the forbidden password which allowed them to take hold of things and shape them in their own way, finally allowing the rest of us see their handiwork.  Oh, to be....a writer!


And then something happened along my cozy little path in life.  I had the opportunity to join a writers group!  I started with trepidation, with the fear that I wouldn't be good enough because those others in the group again had that special access to the secret place.  As time wore on, weeks and months passed by, and I discovered that I also had access to this special place.  I had things that actually were interesting to other people, people that I didn't have to pay, cajole, or otherwise force into reading, let alone liking what I had to offer.


I've come to learn that I put my own wall of separation up.  I was the one who was my own worst enemy, continually thinking that I wasn't good enough, and that I would be found out for the fraud that I was.  Instead, I was scared - scared that I would actually enjoy it, scared that I might actually have something to contribute, scared that I would be successful.  Now, over the years I've come to realize that everyone is their own worst enemy.  People really need to stop listening to their inner critic and to take the risk and learn from it.  You'll learn more about yourself and what you can do by doing so than you would ever learn by hearing about someone else's experiences.


So that's what I'm doing now.  I'm taking the risk, and I'm writing my novel.  In fact, I'm planning to write several novels, and I have the list of story ideas to prove it!  So, I'm hoping to provide some insights on my experiences, and along the way I hope that you too will decide to take the risk and do whatever it is you've been longing to do.  Maybe it's skydiving (who would purposefully jump out of a perfectly good airplane?!), maybe it's running the New York Marathon (if you buy my plane ticket, I'll come cheer you on), or maybe it's wanting to build furniture (I need a nice new chair for my living room).  Whatever it is, go out there and do it!  Now that I've decided to write and publish my novel, I'm having the time of my life.  And fortunately, I've found some companions who are going through this journey with me (the fools!), and we're our own support group, celebrating the joys and being there to comfort in the letdowns.


So, what's your dream?