by Alycia W. Morales     @AlyciaMorales

As the 4th of July approaches, I find myself thinking about my dreams. After all, people come to this country in hopes of living the American Dream. And those of us who were born here grow up chasing it, right? Yet many never achieve it. Why? Circumstances prohibit it. They give up. They take a different career path… Whatever the reason, it doesn’t come to pass. And then we face the “what if?”

As writers, it’s  easy to give up on our dreams. It’s also easy to convince ourselves that we shouldn’t dream quite so big. It sounds silly to say to ourselves, “I want to write a New York Times Bestseller.” Or, “I want my books to be turned into movies.” Or, “I want to win a Christy award.” So at the first sign of resistance, we set aside our keyboard and wonder if we should get what others like to call “a real job.”

I want to encourage you today to stay behind that keyboard and keep writing. Give yourself a daily word count, even if it’s only 100 words. Or a paragraph. Or a page. Remember, a little goes a long way. It all adds up. Soon, you’ll have a chapter. Then you’ll have a book.

I want to encourage you to keep dreaming. God put that desire to write inside of you. Quitting won’t bring Him glory. Keeping on will.

And dream big. Don’t let others tell you that you can’t be successful. If you’re meant to have a book, you will. Because you’ll study and write and grow. And the more you study and write and grow, the better you’ll get at the craft. And the better you get at the craft, the more attention you’ll receive from those who can help you see your book in print. Maybe that’s the dream you’re starting with. You just want to see your name on the cover of a book. Great! What’s next? Two books? A series? A best seller? Movie rights? A 6-figure advance? Don’t be afraid to dream big. And don’t let failure keep you from trying again. It’s in our mistakes that we learn what works and what doesn’t.

So as those of us who live in America face celebrating the successes of our founding fathers and their dreams realized, let’s take a moment to realize our own dreams. What’s one of your writing dreams? [reminder]

Alycia Morales is a freelance writer and editor whose initial writing dream was to be published in Focus on the Family’s magazine. Shortly after her first writers conference, her sidebar article was published in Thriving Family magazine. She has also been published on chritiandevotions.us and in Splickety Love. She has won several awards for her writing and has edited several award-winning writers as well. Her next writing dream is to be published by Love Inspired.

When she isn’t busy writing and editing, Alycia enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, coloring in adult coloring books, and watching crime shows on TV.

Save