Patience, Persistence, and Prevailing #IWSG
Well, well, well, here we are again. Welcome to the May 2015 edition of Insecure Writer's Support Group, brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh.
I keep blah blahhing over a little intro to this month's post, but I've been writing for nearly 12 hours straight for my day job and I appear to have used up my daily quota for decent words. So here, go read this guy's words. They're not only reassuring, they're inspiring. "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner's reassuring Life Advice for Struggling Artists.
The article caused me to think harder about some words I heard spoken by a talented young woman on the speech team with my son. These are from Dolly Parton's book, Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You.
"Do not confuse dreams with wishes. There is a difference. Dreams are where you visualize yourself being successful at what's important to you to accomplish. And dreams build convictions. Because you work hard to pay the price to make sure that they come true. Wishes are hoping that good things will happen to you. With wishes, there is no fire in your gut, pushing you to the limit to overcome every obstacle to reach your heart's desire."
Matthew Weiner is a dreamer. I'd like to be, but I think I fall too often into the wisher category. Hey, sometimes wishing works---for example, right now I'm in the midst of a blog tour for my new release, VIBRIZZIO and the reviews have been really, really good. :) Here are some of my favorites so far:
"Vibrizzio is a fun yet insightful story that frequently had me smirking."
"The characters are charming, the story is engaging, and the pacing is absolutely spot on!"
But it looks like the dreamer part of me will have to kick in to get the Amazon rankings to follow suit. Or maybe the situation is that I'm a dreamer when it comes to writing, but only a wisher when it comes to sales. Hmm...
How about you---where do you fall on the dreamer/wisher spectrum?
I keep blah blahhing over a little intro to this month's post, but I've been writing for nearly 12 hours straight for my day job and I appear to have used up my daily quota for decent words. So here, go read this guy's words. They're not only reassuring, they're inspiring. "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner's reassuring Life Advice for Struggling Artists.
The article caused me to think harder about some words I heard spoken by a talented young woman on the speech team with my son. These are from Dolly Parton's book, Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You.
"Do not confuse dreams with wishes. There is a difference. Dreams are where you visualize yourself being successful at what's important to you to accomplish. And dreams build convictions. Because you work hard to pay the price to make sure that they come true. Wishes are hoping that good things will happen to you. With wishes, there is no fire in your gut, pushing you to the limit to overcome every obstacle to reach your heart's desire."
Matthew Weiner is a dreamer. I'd like to be, but I think I fall too often into the wisher category. Hey, sometimes wishing works---for example, right now I'm in the midst of a blog tour for my new release, VIBRIZZIO and the reviews have been really, really good. :) Here are some of my favorites so far:
"It was fast, fun and flirty. And the best part, it was funny!!"
"Vibrizzio is a fun yet insightful story that frequently had me smirking."
"The characters are charming, the story is engaging, and the pacing is absolutely spot on!"
(hehe, some of you may be interested in the giveaway at the book blogger links)
But it looks like the dreamer part of me will have to kick in to get the Amazon rankings to follow suit. Or maybe the situation is that I'm a dreamer when it comes to writing, but only a wisher when it comes to sales. Hmm...
How about you---where do you fall on the dreamer/wisher spectrum?
Comments
Not sure where I fall on the dreamer/wisher scale. Probably depends on the day. :)
It might've started as a wish, but when I realized it could come true, I made it my dream.
And you're right - there is a difference! I've also heard:
"A wish is a dream without a plan."
Congrats on the great reviews!
You'll catch up to the "dreamer" status soon... You just have too many distractions at work to think about them.. LOL.
Me, dreamer.... it HURTS... I wish I was a wisher. I always GO FOR IT, and I am always slapped down... LOL. Oh, well. I guess dreamers are masochists as well....
What an interesting distinction between dreaming and wishing. I have made some dreams come true in my psychology career through a lot of hard work, but sometimes my writing career goes into wish mode by default. And I like what Alex said about sales being largely out of our control. You can't have it all, I guess. But overall I'm satisfied with both.
I'm a dreamer - when I picture my future, I'm sat at a desk writing, or having a first meeting with an agent - I'm definitely working towards my goal.
Me, I have a bias for action so I suppose that drops me into the 'dreamer' category (without the negative connotations).
Love,
Janie
I think I've begun moving from wishing to dreaming on sales... I hope.
Congratulations on the great reviews!
Nicki, I am happy to blog about your book!! Of course the offer is still open. Please send stuff along :)