20 Things Writers Can Learn From Dreamers
Hi readers and writerly friends!
It’s no doubt, still a crazy time, even in October 2020, with another round of the pandemic creeping in and the election in November just around the corner, things just don’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. But today, we’re going to shove all of that gross-ness under the rug and talk about something fun, positive, and incredibly inspiring.
I got this idea from the lovely Shayla Raquel who wrote this kind of blog post first on her blog. You can check it out here! But I just thought it was such a wonderful and inspiring kind of post and I had plenty of amazing quotes myself, so I figured, why don’t I take a crack at it?
In her blog post, Shayla writes:
If you’ve ever been around someone who sprints toward his dreams, then you know he’s absolutely insane. Nothing will get in his way. Nothing can stop him. He will accomplish his goals because he knows no other way to live.
—Shayla Raquel, Curiouser Editing
I love this quote and it aptly describes me whenever I get in a writing mood. I can’t be stopped, not even by my friends and family, by hunger, sleep, or coffee.
Okay, that’s a little bit of a stretch. Coffee might be the only reason I stop writing when I get on a roll.
But it’s certainly true that us writers can learn a thing or two from dreamers:
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”– Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Failure is not an option. It’s inevitable.” — Randy Langley
“I address you all tonight for who you truly are: wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, and magicians. You are the true dreamers.” — Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabaret
“Dare to dream! If you did not have the capability to make your wildest wishes come true, your mind would not have the capacity to conjure such ideas in the first place. There is no limitation on what you can potentially achieve, except for the limitation you choose to impose on your own imagination. What you believe to be possible will always come to pass - to the extent that you deem it possible. It really is as simple as that.” — Anthon St. Maarten
“Maybe you are a poet and a dreamer, but don't you realize that those two species are extinct now?” — J.G. Ballard
“Some stories have to be written because no one would believe the absurdity of it all.” — Shannon L. Alder
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”— Robert F. Kennedy
“I just want to live my life less like a list and more like a lyric.” — Emily Freeman (If you’ve seen my Instagram, then you know!)
“The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dreams is you.” – Tom Bradley
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon seem inevitable.” ― Christopher Reeve
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ― Harriet Tubman
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” — Paulo Coelho
“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?'” – George Bernard Shaw
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” — Maya Angelou
“All successful people, men and women, are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision. ” ― Brian Tracy
“I’m not just a storyteller. I am story.” — Ronne Rock
“The phoenix must burn to emerge.”— Janet Fitch
“Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” — Gena Showalter
“If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”– Henry David Thoreau
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”– Stephen King
Wow, just wow.
I feel pretty darn inspired right now, what about you? Which quote was your favorite from this list? They were all such great quotes and amazing message, I’m kinda mad I didn’t come up with them myself! Buuut I did make this handy-dandy graphic so you can print it off and pin it up next to your writing space. This way you’ll have a ton of amazing quotes to pick you up when writing gets difficult.
Aren’t these quotes just everything? Click the collage below to download your copy so you can pin it up in your writing area so you never lose inspo!
Click here or click the image to download your free printable now!
Next week in Freelancing, I will have an in-depth, dedicated blog post for what to do when this happens, but sometimes motivational quotes about dreamers, writing, and overcoming failure can really help us gain a better perspective. Let me know your thoughts on this post in the comments below and don’t forget to check out Shayla’s post here!
Keep your head up and keep writing, dreamers. See you next week. <3
Thumbnail photo by Cottonbro.
—Payton
Starting Artists, Not Starving Artists
We’ve all heard of the infamous “starving artist” and those of us who are creative often try to avoid becoming this person. As creators, we all want to see our work succeed, or at least, we want to be able to provide for and live a comfortable life that allows us to continue to work on our passions. This is why it is so important that we support starting artists -so they don’t become starving artists, and so we don’t either.
We’ve all heard of the infamous “starving artist” and those of us who are creative often try to avoid becoming this person. As creators, we all want to see our work succeed, or at least, we want to be able to provide for and live a comfortable life that allows us to continue to work on our passions. This is why it is so important that we support starting artists -so they don’t become starving artists, and so we don’t either.
Woman in a pink shirt painting. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio.
As a newer blogger and entrepreneur, I am speaking from experience when I say, going it alone can be overwhelming. There’s so many different elements to consider when trying to get your artwork noticed, and to a point where it can start providing for itself and for you, especially in this digital age, where we must also market ourselves, have an online presence, and constantly remain consistent. It can get overwhelming, pretty quickly.
This is where supporting other artists comes in. It can be so much easier for you to get started with the help of another artist. If you’re designing your own website, for instance, you might want to hire an artist to design your logos or images you’re planning to feature on your site. You might want to hire a freelance blog writer to start getting content up as soon as possible. You might want to hire a web-page designer to put the site together, if that’s not your thing either.
Woman writing in journal with coffee cup in hand. Photo by Lisa Fotios.
There’s so many ways for you to support creatives who are just starting out, and this is just an example for the website. Perhaps yo’re a writer and you’ve got the blog post thing covered, but maybe you don’t have all of the marketing handled, so well. Maybe you need someone to design a book cover for your next manuscript. Maybe you need an up and coming filmmaker to put together a book trailer for your lifestyle book. It doesn’t matter the project, you can always find a way to support an artist or freelancer who is just starting out in their field. In some cases, yes you might want a professional, but if you’re just starting out. or if its not a critical service you’re in need of, hiring an amateur artist can be mutually beneficial.
One way this job opportunity can be mutually beneficial is that it allows for a service review or testimonial for both sides. It also gives both parties a new client. Maybe you’re not designing a website, but no matter the job in question, you have a new client and so does your hire.
Another way this can be beneficial to you, is that it gives you the opportunity to get some of the work done without having to master the skills needed to complete it, yourself. Not all of us can be filmmakers, and writers, and editors, and web developers. While it helps to have a wide range of skills in your arsenal, it is also freeing to delegate and have someone else on your team to take care of these tasks so you can focus on your own service or product.
By supporting artists who are just starting out, you’re freeing up time in your schedule to commit to tasks that are the most important to you, you’re fostering a meaningful relationship between a new member of your team, and you’re giving back to the community. By supporting starting artists, you’re helping them to not become starving artists.
And that’s my hot take on supporting starting artists to avoid starving artists. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!