Insecure Writers: DareDreams

We all have those negative insecure thoughts swirling through our minds from time to time.

Everything I write is crap on a cracker.
My next door neighbor may be a serial killer.
I’m going to be in menopause before I’m published.
College is just going to be a stepping stone for my son’s long career at Taco Bell.
I will never be the sort of writer who changes the world.
The mailman may be a serial killer.

I’m going to share a secret with you. When these thoughts occur to me I play a little game called DareDreams. Which is basically daydreams only these are so big not many people dare to have them. Get it?

One of my favorite DareDreams is being interviewed by Matt Lauer for my bestselling, life altering debut novel. He tells me J.K. Rowling has vowed to never write again after reading my work and falling into a deep depression over not being able to compete. Anne Curry declares me her new best friend and wants to hang out after the show. I let her down easy.

I also like to dream of all the contests I will hold for peeps to win a copy of my new book. Maybe whoever leaves the best comment about my hair…?

You can let your mind bully you into thinking you will never be good enough. You can let it push you around, shove you in a locker, and eat your lunch. Or you can fight back, refuse to be beaten, and feed it just enough crazy to keep it confused.

You know what I choose to do.

Sometimes I totally feel like this dude.

This post has been part of the Insecure Writers Support Group.

Believe the Dream

If you don’t believe, it won’t happen. If you give up, the dream will die. Can you live with that? Without dreams, our life is a barren field, a wasteland of regret, a dry desert of missed chances and forgotten hope. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty damn thirsty. As long as my imagination keeps pouring the drinks…I’m not giving up my seat at the bar.

I love conceptual metaphors.

Here are a few other guys who knew a little bit about believing the dream.

All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1845) American poet, critic, and short-story writer.

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet and satirist.

Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American naturalist, poet and philosopher.

Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.
Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) American speaker and motivational writer.

A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten. Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, absent-mindedly and with little relish.
W. H. Auden (1907-1973) English-born poet and man of letters.


Don’t keep it real, dream it that way.

Be The Lion

“Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions.”-Russell Crowe, Robin Hood 2010

No one seems to know the exact origin of this quote but its message is undeniable. Do not give up, keep fighting, and the day will come when you prevail.

It seems appropriate to remember this with the anniversary of our independence happening in a few days. We rose up and continued to rise until we prevailed as a nation. Today, despite our problems, we are a country who values and celebrates a person’s ability to overcome obstacles and achieve greatness. Who among us doesn’t love a good underdog story?

Writers must remind themselves of this all the time, especially those of us who are still in the process of becoming published. The knowledge that one day our stories could change a life, make a difference even if it’s only to lift someone’s spirits for a short while…inspires us to never give up, to rise and rise again.

Because we know in those brief, glorious moments…we will become the lion.

Beating the Odds

If you are thinking there is no way to beat the odds and achieve your dream, then take a look at these statistics and maybe you’ll feel better.

The odds are 1 out of 9 (11%) that you live with your parents or in-laws if you're between age 35 and 44.

The odds are 1 out of 3 (36%) that you have a criminal record if you have graduated from the Atlanta Police Academy.

The odds are 1 out of 23,483 (.00425%) that you will be wrongly declared dead this year as a result of a data entry error by the U. S. Social Security Department staff.

The odds are 1 out of 7 (14%) that you think you saw a UFO.

The odds are 1 out of 100 (0.7%) that you are drunk right now.

The odds are 1 out of 4 (24%) that you think the Internet can serve as a substitute for a spouse or significant other.

The odds are 1 out of 3 (34%) that you believe in ghosts.

The odds are 1 out of 7 (15%) that you have a tattoo.

The odds are 1 out of 5 (17%) that you regret getting your tattoo if you have one.

The odds are 8 out of 10 (80%) that you are dependent on coffee or soda for caffeine every day.

The odds are 1 out of 10,000 (.001%) that you will get injured by a toilet this year.

The odds are 1 out of 2 (54%) that you've been caught picking your nose while driving, if you're a man.

We are beating the odds every day! At least we aren’t drunk, sitting at a computer in our parent’s house, regretting our tattoos.

Keep the hope alive, peeps. It could be a lot worse.

Have a great weekend!

Falling Forward

I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks forward this weekend for Daylight Savings Time. Except for you peeps in Arizona and Hawaii, because honestly…you’re getting enough sun already, right?

Which started me musing on how for everything we lose, we usually gain something in its place (you may have to search for it). We lose an hour of time but we gain more daylight. We may have to lose characters we love in early manuscripts and move on to new ones but we gain valuable experience.

If we look at each loss as an opportunity for growth and gain, each failure as another step towards success, then you won’t just be falling forward…you’ll be sprinting.

And that’s about all the positivity I can manage on a rainy Monday.

Just Remember:

Heroes

All sorts of people can inspire us, from the everyday person who holds the door for you when you’re loaded down with packages to the high profile one who beat all the odds to triumph once again.

We need heroes. They give us hope. They show us that we can make a difference and maybe…if we dig in…miracles can happen. Heroes remind us not to give up when the going gets tough and that learning to love ourselves might be the greatest achievement of all.

My Hero of the moment is this girl:

Pink has never compromised in her career, she has made it clear that she is not another cookie cutter popstar and she is not asking for your approval. She sends a clear message that being the real you is much more important than fitting in.

Partial lyrics to her new song, Perfect:

Made a wrong turn, once or twice

Dug my way out, blood and fire

Bad decisions, that's alright

Welcome to my silly life

Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood

Miss 'No way, it's all good', it didn't slow me down

Mistaken, always second guessing, underestimated

Look, I'm still around

Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel

Like you're less than perfect

Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing

You're perfect to me!

You're so mean, when you talk about yourself, you were wrong

Change the voices in your head, make them like you instead

So complicated, look happy, you'll make it!

Filled with so much hatred...such a tired game

It's enough! I've done all I can think of

Chased down all my demons, I've seen you do the same

Done looking for the critics, cause they're everywhere

They dont like my jeans, they don't get my hair

Exchange ourselves, and we do it all the time

Why do we do that? Why do I do that?

Why do I do that..?

Enough said. I may not be ready to dye my hair or wear the outfits…but if I have one New Year’s resolution this year…it’s to be just a little more Pink.

Who is your hero?

The Absence of Hope

I hesitate to blog about this because I do not want to be disrespectful in any way but I feel its something that needs to be shared.

One of my neighbors killed herself a few days ago and our neighborhood is in a state of shock. We have lived beside each other for almost seventeen years. I am ashamed to say that I did not know her very well. We spoke when we ran into each other which wasn't often. She had a dry sense of humor that I loved and was always willing to lend a helping hand if you needed anything. She seemed so tough and capable.

What drives a person to make such an irreversible decision to end themselves? I know that everyone experiences bad times and some much more than others. I cannot imagine the agony of the loss of a child that my mother has lived through or the devastation of losing all that you own in a natural disaster or even the crushing loneliness someone must feel at times when they have no family to lean on. I can only guess at how dark and terrible the world must seem in the absence of all hope.

I look around me and I am thankful to the bottom of my soul for my family and friends.
You give me hope that shines in the darkest places.