Tend to Your Writing Dreams

No. 150.5 | By Christine Carron

This whole Goodjelly adventure started with a dream of helping writers create more confidence, ease, and flow on their writing journey. So in honor of the blog's 3-year anniversary, something a little different. 

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Tend to Your Writing Dreams

They keep you going through the slogs
of first drafts. The endless
revisions. The tough critiques. Rejections,
blocks, doubt. Even despair.

(Such motivational fuel!)

Your dreams will not
be quelled. Will not
be contained.
But, let’s be clear.

Goals go.
Dreams don’t.
Dreams do not do.
They be.

Dreams are spacious.
And—take note!—they will take
their time. As much jolly time
as they like.

(Surely mine is not
the only ego that has shattered
against a dream’s
imperturbable pace?)

Dreams are draped
in possibility, patience, and grace.
They are your soul’s yearning, palling around
with your heart's imagination.

Your dreams are fierce.
Tender, too. (Take care with whom
you share your dreams, writer—
they must be worthy!)

Dreams ask you to step up.
Grow.
Be brave.
Surrender to their magic.

They will not quit you. And you cannot
quit them. They won’t let you.
They invite you (again and again)
into your next becoming.

So I ask you, “What have you done for your writing dreams lately?”

Have you honored them with gratitudes?
Taken them out for an artist’s date?
Made them a collage?
Paddled them around a lake?

Given them a color theme?
Composed them an aria?
Made them a playlist?
Written them a villanelle?

Designed them a cocktail?
(A mocktail?)
Baked them a cake?
Thrown them a party?

(They like a little sparkle.)

Gifted them with violets?
Treated them to a string quartet?
Waltzed them beneath a starry sky?
Sung them the dream electric?

Shared them with a trusted friend?
Made a list of how they’ve helped you grow?
Made a list of all they’ve helped you know?
Or perhaps,

you sat with them on a snowy day,
and shared a cup of ginger tea?
(Japanese knotweed honey
optional, of course.)

Tend to your dreams, writer.
They are the stuff that writing progress is made of.