I Dream. You Dream. We all Dream of Big Things!
by Holly Christine(1)http://www.hollychristineonline.com
Perhaps I can credit Disney movies for my belief in big dreams. As a child, I honestly believed that proper etiquette for expressing yourself was best done with a song: a song for happiness, a song for sadness, a song for every emotion. Because Sleeping Beauty sang and Cinderella danced into her clothes each morning, I truly believed that this was what adult life held: magic, songs, spells and charm.
Now, as an adult, I don’t dance into my clothes each morning (not before my coffee anyway). But I do sing (I can’t sing very well and my hearing is terrible so I always sing the wrong words) and I still dream big.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved storytelling. In college, close to graduating, I met with an advisor to discuss my career plans.
“I want to write. I want to write fiction.”
Pretty simple and right to the point, I had the dream but no plan to make the dream come true. My advisor suggested that while I searched for jobs as a copywriter that I not mention my dream. “It’s a little dreamy,” she said.
Never one to lie (my face scrunches up and my lips curl under my teeth when I lie and I think it’s possible that the story of Pinocchio was inspired by a person with similar attributes), when I was asked where I saw myself in five years, the answer was always writing fiction.
After months of job searching, I was finally hired at a bank. They didn’t ask me about my five-year goals. If anything, my “career” in a retail bank has given the opportunity to meet people with stories and the time to write, as I never take work home with me. Can you imagine if I did? “Oh! I don’t have time to count this money right now. I’ll just take it home with me and count it later!” Sure.
After writing The Nine Lives of Clemenza, I sent query letters to agents and publishers alike, waiting and praying for publication, waiting on a dream to come true. After a year of hearing the same response (“We love the concept! We just don’t know how to categorize the book”), I took matters into my own hands. Cinderella did the same. Really. She made the dress. It was her choice to go to the ball to find Prince Charming. What kind of story would it have been if she decided to stay at home, mopping the floors, wallowing in self-pity?
I published The Nine Lives of Clemenza myself and checked my email every hour to see if anyone bought the book. After a few months of nail biting, the Midwest Book Review named my book Reviewer’s Choice. I formatted the book for the Amazon Kindle, priced it right, and before I knew it total strangers were commenting on the book, leaving reviews. One reader said that the book would stay with her for years to come.
Months ago, I was ready to give up. I questioned my ability and I questioned my dream. But my heart told me to stay with it. Dreams aren’t just for Disney movies and children. It’s never too late to start and it’s never to late to find a way to make your dreams come true.
Article submitted Saturday, July 11, 2009 & read 2754 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Avis Ward from SC (1 year 55 days ago.)
Inspirational! Encouraging! Dreamy! An excellent article filled with magic! The magic is real and dreams come true. Thank you, Holly. This was wonderful! Your wit and sense of humor twinkled like the stars!
Respond to this comment
» left by sue thom from nj (1 year 55 days ago.)
hi holly,this is truly an inspirational article, and i'm so glad you shared it with us.i am contemplating writing a book. i'm 53, and have wanted to do so since i was 12! maybe now that my kids are adults, i can fulfill my "other" dream.thanks for the encouraging article, and i hope you continue posting articles.my best regards,sue thomRespond to this comment
9-0-0-0-1-ADSO