Chasing The Dream

I can't believe we are halfway through the 12 X 12 in 2012 challenge.  I have five picture book manuscripts completed and almost finished with the sixth.  It's been all about chasing a dream of mine that began over 40 years ago.

Poetry has lived in my head since I was eight years old and by the time I was in fourth grade I had a dream of becoming a writer.  I chased that dream for years; first filling notebooks with virgin efforts at poetry, then essays about whatever struck my interest and even a stint at being editor-in-chief of my high school paper.  No one knew of my passion for writing and I focused on that dream to the exclusion of many other things.

Yet dreams are sometimes hard to catch and when I was in my twenties I allowed other people's opinions to darken my visions of becoming a writer.  I tried to silence the voices in my head for twenty years and thought I would be content to just read the works of others.  But dreams are funny things.  They don't die easily, so when the timing was right my voices began invading my dreams again and I returned to my writer roots once more.



Maybe there was a reason for the silence.  Maybe I needed time to mature as a writer...time to discover this wonderful writing community I'm so proud to be a part of...time to be able to participate in Julie Hedlund's wonderful 12 X 12 in 2012 Halfway There Blog Party ( http://www.juliehedlund.com/2012/06/25/were-halfway-there/ ) and celebrate a milestone in my new writing career.  And maybe it's not about getting the picture perfect ending, but about the journey through the story itself.  About doing whatever it takes to chase that dream...

To A Heart Overflowing

Some of you first met me during Tara Lazar's wonderful PiBoIdMo challenge where we all raced to come up with 30 picture book ideas in 30 days back in November of last year.  I was just returning to my writing after missing it for 20 years, and I really didn't know if I would be able to complete the challenge.  To a heart overflowing with trepidation, I didn't believe in myself nearly as much as the wonderful group of writers with which I surrounded myself did.

I survived the challenge and ended with 45 picture book ideas which amazed me and showed the possibilities which existed to a heart overflowing...

Then along in January of this year came Julie Hedlund's 12 X 12 in 2012 where she challenged us to take those picture book ideas and try to turn 12 of them into more than just a whiff of a story.  To a heart overflowing with possibilities, this gave me a chance to spread my wings of creation and fly as high as my visions would take me.

Finally, Miranda Paul gave writers an avenue to seek out the wisdom and advice of seasoned authors. People who cared enough about this writing community to show their generosity by mentoring to writers who sought out their council.  To a heart overflowing with hope, this was a chance for me to see if I had what it took to be a writer of children's books.  Most of you know I received an excellent rating recently from Rate Your Story on one of my manuscripts...how could you NOT know, when I was shouting my excitement from the rooftops?

And now I am about to complete my first A to Z Challenge where I have shown a little bit more of myself to the world and have been somewhat surprised by the lovely responses I have received from followers old and new.  To a heart overflowing with gratitude, my 100+ new followers to my blog since the beginning of April is a milestone I will never forget!

As I get closer and closer to my dream of being a published author, I will remember these moments best  where the support and friendship of wonderful writers across the globe helped lift a spirit and guide it on the path to publication.  

To a heart overflowing...the sky is the limit!