Hi everyone! Blogger picked a bad time for its auto publish function to stop working, but I just posted yesterday´s post as well. Please make sure to check it out below this one.
By: Steph Damore (aka Allegory19)
You all have one right? The Best Sellers lists, literary acclaim, book tours, six-figure advances… or maybe your dream is smaller, like walking into the bookstore and seeing your novel on the shelf.
Me?
I have this dream. It’s summer time. I wake up at 6 a.m. and lie in bed for a few minutes. It doesn’t take long for my mind to wake up and the writing to start. Afraid the ideas will slip away, I get up and escape down the hall to the computer room. The house is quiet, and I can just write and write and write.
This is actually the dream that I get to live every day. I’m not published. I’ve never sold any of my work. But I’m blessed.
So what about you? What’s your writing dream?
I'd like to be rolling in money from royalties. Simply rolling in it.
Lovely post…thanks…
My dream is to have the proverbial room of one's own…I write on the family's communal computer in a tiny apartment. Although my sons do have PC laptops, they like my Mac better!
My room would have French doors opening to a cottage garden with roses and hollyhocks.
Great post Stephanie!
My current dream, however, is to get a call from the 212 🙂
Hey Mira,
I used to tell my husband that I wanted to win the lottery so I could change the world. To which he replied, "you don't need to win the lottery to change the world."
Good point.
Something tells me that you don't need to write a book to help people with their suffering. I'm sure you've already done more than enough, "working in the helping profession" and all… cheers to you.
I am small press published and I go into Waterstones, call up my book online on every machine in the 'search' section and then walk away. Then I go to the shelf for Da-Dn and make a space there for my books.
Not a dream – I have actually done it.
The dream is – I must finish the novel that is actually going to make it to that shelf!
Hey Allegory,
Thanks. But I want to do more. I want to spread my helping net so far and wide that even those who neither want nor need my help are trapped until they beg me to stop helping them…..hmmmm. Maybe I need to re-evaluate this dream of mine.
I also, btw, have many other lovely dreams, such as being published and seeing my name in print, owning two houses, having lots of money and being represented by a certain agent. But I figured this one sounded better.
I also, btw, love your post.
I'd like Stephanie Meyer to apologize to me.
Nice post, Steph. I think my dream is to have enough hours to get it all done in one day. The writing, the marketing, the promoting….. 🙂 Or better yet, have an assistant who could do all the marketing and promoting so I could just write.
Thanks to a well-placed friend, I'm already living the dream of writing for a (meager) living. As I continue to write, my bottom line continues to expand. Unfortunately, it's not my fiscal bottom line that's growing … there's just too much sitting involved with this gig.
Therefore, my current dream is to find a way to ingest enough coffee and chocolate (and yes, alright – wine, but only after quitting time) to bring a project to completion without it wreaking havoc on the size of my butt.
I like this.
My dream is to be published. That's all. Just to be published.
"The Best Sellers lists, literary acclaim, book tours, six-figure advances… or maybe your dream is smaller, like walking into the bookstore and seeing your novel on the shelf."
Yep. All of the above.
Right now I'll settle for a ham sandwich.
My writing dream is a bit more extravagant. It's to give fantasy readers a different kind of fantasy, clean, without sex, violence, and swearing, but still with a great story. If I can publish a couple of novels in that category, I'll consider my dream fulfilled.
The dream is much the way I live now. Life in coffee shops or in bed at home, laptop in hand, cookie crumbs sprinkling around me and a big mug of coffee. I'll be writing, napping, hanging out. Just add paychecks. I don't even need acclaim. I'd be happy with the opportunity to get paid to write for teens and almost teens. I'd like to travel now and then. A humble cottage. Fine art films. A few magazine subscriptions. I'm easy to please.
Under no circumstances would my dream involve getting up at 6am, though. Let's change that to a more reasonable 9am. I'd also like a husband who loves nothing more than to make me a morning soy latte, but we can't have everything.
Great question!
Great job Stephanie!
My dream is pretty simple. I would like to say "I am a writer" with as much conviction and pride as I have when saying, "I am a mother."
My dream used to be to get published. Then I wrote some entertainment review articles and sold them. So then my dream became writing a book. (Actually, I had been working on a book for a lot longer than that, started it in 1998.) I not only finished my novel this year to the point that I am happy with it, but I also thought up, pitched, got accepted, and wrote a 32,000 word non-fiction book, which comes out this December. So then my dream became publishing fiction. I just this morning sent in my third short story contract – the first of these should be getting published next month. Now my dream is to get a novel published. I'd like it to be the one that I'm currently shopping, but if it's the next one I write, that's ok too.
I don't tend to dream big. I dream about what I can achieve. I'm learning that I can achieve an awful lot when I put my mind to it.
My big big dream is to make enough money from my writing, novel advance or whathaveyou, that I can pay off all our debt except the mortgage, because then I can stay home and write while my husband works. I used to imagine that this would mean I could spend 8 hours a day writing, but I've been unemployed since February, and so far I've discovered that being home doesn't mean I don't still have stuff to do. And being home all day actually makes me less able to do chores and stuff when my husband is home, which I used to be able to do just fine when we both had jobs, because I so very much want to spend time with him after being alone all day. These are things you learn with experience.
Most definitely being able to go, unhindered, and write what's in your head the moment it appears. Then sending it off and finding someone (or many someones) who appreciate it as much as you do.
Though I'm new to the game, I am happy to say that I'm off to a great start. Plus, I have been fortunate enough to find local people who share my passion and with whom I can meet with and converse with regularly on all aspects of writing, publishing, and marketing.
I feel exceedingly inspired by everyone's dreams, but the one that sticks out at the moment is Anon 2:26's…
"I'd like Stephanie Meyer to apologize to me."
Um, for what exactly? Writing a not-so-good series? Stealing your idea? Your agent? What?
I'm just itching with curiosity.
I like this dream, if only it started at 8 AM instead of 6. *wink, wink*
But no, my dream is knowing that someone, somewhere, thinks my writing is worthy of being printed on paper. And it's a good dream, one I'm still trying to achieve.
Bane, I'm with you! I don't think I'm capable of concocting a dream that starts before 11am!
My dream for a long time has been to have a house on a big property with a separate little guest house that I can use as my study. I have very outlandish ideas for how I want to decorate it and I will pay someone any amount of money if they can completely sound proof it so I can work in silence!
I have even drawn up plans for it and chosen the paint colours and the material for the curtains… yeah, I'm really lame like that….
Nope, it's gotta be 6 a.m. – if not earlier in the summer. There's magic in the morning, in the sunrise. Watching the day begin with a new scene, a new character, a new idea – that's what I love so much about writing while the rest of the world still sleeps.
Thanks for that reminder, Steph. That's truly what my dream is, but occasionally I forget, caught up in queries and loftier ideas. I never meant to get serious about this writing thing. So it's good to be reminded of the original beauty of a writer's gift.
So … I'm living the dream.
But I'd sure like to share my stories, too. 🙂
I actually had a real dream the other night about my writing that sings true…the novel I'm working on now, that's been in the making for ten years, it was at the bookstore. I could hold it in my hands, run my fingers across the cover. The publisher had changed the title, but that was okay–I liked what they had changed it to. All my friends were in the bookstore buying the book. And my clients–the ones who have been signing the checks that have allowed me to purchase gasoline and groceries and gin–they were buying it, too. Everyone was saying,"I knew you could do it, C. I never doubted you could do it."
I woke up from the dream, and I went to my desk and wrote page 146…
That's the part of the dream I like best.
My dream is to have enough time to not only write (which I do), but to *think* about writing. I can always fit writing in around the two jobs that I have, but the competition for free mental space is pretty intense. I need more time to just gel on plot problems and the like.
"Luckily" (?) I have achieved my dream in the short run, having been laid off from one of my jobs. So, for a brief period of time, I can enjoy the mental space.
Of course, when the money runs out, and financial panic sets in, then it'll be a dream again.
I'd also like to see my novel published.
My dream?
Bestseller lists – Yes
Literary Acclaim – Definitey
Book tours – You betcha!
Six Figure Advance – Of course! Seeing my novel on the shelf – Absolutely.
But none of those are the most important. Without hesitation or doubt I'll tell ya I dream about making a living writing full time.
That's what I'm talkin' about!!
My dream is to finally finish my first novel (I'm about two-thirds of the way through so far) and find an agent. I dream of being published and seeing my book(s)in bookstores and in my local library. I wouldn't care if I was just a local celebrity or not at all, just so long as I was finally in print.
I also dream of having the money to have a house large enough to afford me one room just solely for writing. I would love my own office!
My ultimate dream is to write novels for a living while I work as a nurse PRN (as needed) saving lives, bringing them into the world, or helping them to bow out gracefully. My ultimate would be working full time writing from my beach house (ahem…one day) and doing the RN thing a couple shifts out of the month (just enough to get my fill).
I want to write Sci Fi or thrillers for adults and children. Oh yeah, and I would LOVE to have a book go to the movies and get to experience that world from the background. Maybe even write a script or two?? hehe.
That's my dream! Thanks for asking! Good question!
Oh, Purple Clover, thank you! Your post just reminded me of my "other" dream… which happens after my novel is published. It's then that I hope my hubby (who's a struggling filmmaker) gets the chance to adapt my novel to the big screen. I would feel ever so proud of him!
P.S. And, Steph, I'm with you – I like to write while the world sleeps, too. Only, because I'm a pseudo-vampire, my writing happens around 3 in the morning (when I'm fairly certain most of the people in my "real" world are intelligently asleep). ;0
That it was not meaningless. All those hours, days, years over the keyboard was not for nothing, That I wake up to acceptance, publication, and royalty checks, to validation that my writing was worth something to someone.
Probably totally geeky, but I dream about a someone reading my book and taking the time to write me a "fan letter." It would be really cool knowing they liked it enough to do that.
I have a dream to be published by the time I'm 92. Hopefully it won't take that long – I'm only 40!
I would love a room of my own – a little artists studio – a shed with a desk and a chair – a floating house at Fisherman's Wharf – a small boat…anything, as long as it invites creativity.
Oh, and maybe a dog named Yeats. A furry thing that lifts his eyebrows at me when I talk excitedly about a scene I'm pleased with.
Good post, thoughtful.
I just finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and as I finished that last page and closed the book, I felt truly satisfied, as if I had eaten a sumptuous meal and had a tasty, though not too filling, dessert. I guess my dream would be to have my novel published and have someone tell me they felt the same as they finished my novel. Money, fame, etc. would be nice, but if people liked my book, that would be the good stuff.
My first dream, which I had as a child, was to be published. My first story acceptance (in tandem with an award) came in 1977 (bibliography is here).
I've won other awards (1983 New England Science Fiction Association Short Story Contest, 2004 National Federation of State Poetry Societies contest, more). Gotten close to some major ones (1985 John W. Campbell Award finalist, 1989 preliminary ballot for a Nebula).
Got approached by three agents in the 1980s, but didn't have a book-length work I felt was ready to show. I was supporting myself through office work combined with freelance work and had only so much time to go around.
Was a small-press editor (Star*Line, 1986-88).
Appeared last year in award-winning anthologies (IPPY Silver Medalist Riffing on Strings, Bram Stoker Award winner Unspeakable Horror).
Had the first novel of a six-volume series published in the small press (Deviations: Covenant, in 2007 by Aisling Press, which dissolved before it could release the sequel). I'm now offering Covenant and Appetite as free downloads in the hope of maintaining momentum and building a readership.
My current strategy is twofold: self-publishing and offering free downloads while continuing to submit shorter pieces. Work is forthcoming in Asimov's and elsewhere.
Even as a child, I never hoped to support myself solely through my fiction. My "day job," whatever it was, would support my creative work. I currently freelance in communications, which includes corporate writing and editing. For years I have been the sole support of my household and am also a caregiver, which has influenced my decision to go the "DIY" route.
My writing dream is to be able to share my corner of the human condition in a way that tells stories well. I want the creative energies I channel to be constructive forces. I think of all the books and poems that have made a difference in my own life, and I would be honored to join that tradition.
A transcript (with links and photos) of an interview I gave on Chronicles is here. A podcast of an interview I gave earlier this week on Conversations LIVE! is here.
Stories create a pressure in my brain, that only ends when I feel they've been read by enough people. I want to release my ideas on the rest of the human race.
My dream is to get enough of them out of my brain that the pressure is relieved. I want to be *empty* when I grow old.
Through the baby drool, I forgot to add: I'm living my dream. I have a super duper supportive husband, an awesome baby that I raise full time, and I write during baby naps. I guess it's self-indulgent to write this, but I feel very grateful to be inside my dream.
Wonderful post. Sometimes, just getting our dreams out on paper (or screen) can help them feel that much more attainable.
My dream is to wake up early, slip down to the kitchen and brew some tea. I sit a while, sipping quietly, watching the sunrise over the ocean from my front porch. Once I am convinced the sun is secure for the morning, I pad back into the bed room, dress, then it's out to my workshop, a shed in the backyard. There I write until lunch time, break for a picnic, then spend the next few hours dreaming of the stories to come.
That is my writing dream! I also live it everyday…until about 6:15 when reality sets in…
JStantonChandler –
You had me at "brew some tea" and then the sunrise over the ocean was the lock in. Sigh. I want that dream. I reallllly do.
I want my kids to call me from college to say they are coming home for spring break so I'll get the linens rewashed and replaced on the beds. We'll all go down to the beach and they'll play in the ocean with the friends they brought along, while I drink my hot tea and type on my laptop.
Then I'll think about how they are much more important than anything and I'll snap the laptop shut. I'll join them in the water while we make fools of ourselves playing frisbee in large waves with an undercurrent that makes you wobble like a baby taking his first steps.
I'm sure I could go on for hours.
😀
My writing dream is to experience excellence in writing.
I dream of publishing highly entertaining novels that surprise mainstream readers when they realize the characters and plot made them think about something extraordinary.
To have my mom or dad hand me back my published book after reading it and not have to say anything. The look on their faces will tell me it's one of the best things they've ever read.
Thanks guys for sharing your dreams — they all sound amazing. Cheers to you in hoping your dreams come true.
-Steph
Thanks for this simple reminder, Steph. I'm living my dream, too. It's so easy to let that fact go unnoticed, isn't it?
But "big dream?" I'd sure love a handful of starred reviews on my next novel… 😉
I have to agree with the beach house scenario D.G. mentioned. 🙂 I want to make enough money from writing to live on…just me…in my beach house…maybe an aquarium full of clown fish and sea anemones.
*sigh*
Dream? You mean you SLEEP? LOL. I dream of sitting down to a clean desk within an immaculate, newly renovated home. The renovation was funded by my first novel, of course. Then I wake with drool on my laptop keyboard and the usual dogeared stack of papers on my kitchen desk.
Hahaha. If my dream writing day began at sunrise it would go something like this:
Get up, look at clock. Start cursing at seeing how early it is. Sit down in front of the computer, curse some more. Write one word. Delete word. Go back to bed.
Very poignant blog, Steph, thanks!
My dreams are a little different than my goals. My original goal was to replace my part time teaching income so I could quit and write instead. Check! Now it's to be paid to write what I want to write, which is fantasy fiction.
My writing DREAM is to have an assistant, a cook/housekeeper/chocolate steward and an accountant so that all I have to do is lounge around and produce golden, immortal prose that will make people rise up and end world hunger and war. If you're gonna dream, I say, dream ginormous.
If I'm to be honest I must tell you that I have almost everything that everyone else is dreaming about–an office of my own in a quiet home in the woods, time to write and revise without pressure or interruptions, and ideas that spill out, eager for my attention. Go back to the beginning and read this again and you'll notice the "almost".
My dream is to believe I deserve publication. Fulfilling that dream would mean I'd stop procrastinating about approaching agents. I tidy off the last of this 349th revision and throw it out of the nest whether I think it can fly or not. I haven't done it yet.
I have almost everything. Almost.