All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.
--T.E. Lawrence
Sometimes, I feel like all of this is for nothing. I spend hours upon hours pouring words onto paper with the hope that someday someone will find my work worthy of publication. But behind that hope is fear. Fear that I’m wasting my time. Fear that it’s only arrogance that has gotten me this far. Who am I to say that I could ever be good enough?
Yet here I am, still writing, still striving to hone my craft. We’re all still here, and that's what separates us from those who merely dream.
I like to think I’m not a dreamer. I’m a doer. Though I may never reach the end of this road, I’m not just sitting on a rock watching others pass me by. I’m walking there beside them or behind them and learning everything I can. I’m finding my way step by step and maybe someday I’ll get there. Maybe someday I’ll be one of those “dangerous [wo]men” who “make it possible.” For now, I’m enjoying the journey. :)
That's the whole problem with being a writer, though, isn't it? You have to be a dreamer AND a doer.
ReplyDeleteComment from White Rose:
ReplyDeleteWow! I feel as if I could've written this! I dream a lot. But it's my dreams that make me work that much harder to reach my goals. Then that little monster (called doubt) sometimes niggles in and I really begin to wonder if working hard will eventually lead me to a publisher. Perhaps I'm too much of a dreamer? Perhaps I'm not as good a writer as I'd like to think I am, that nasty little creature says. Perhaps I'm being too arrogant in thinking I have something to say that others will find interesting enough to want to read. Maybe its just arrogance that keeps me at my computer four hours a day on most days. "A writer writes." That's what they say. I guess the bottom line for me is that I will write until the day my fingers become so authoritic (note the spelling), I can't type one more teensy word. Because I love doing it. (Got to get all those "other" personalities and my would-be adventures out of me somehow!)