Dream to Reality. Ever?

I have a cold ... so, I seem to be unable to grapple my way back to happy, sunshiny Diane. This might explain some stuff over the last few days. I've been absolutely frozen! That's weird for me, I tend to the 'warm' side of things. But, I've been covering up with a blanket and wearing a sweatshirt jacket around the house. I just figured I was reacting against the weather around here. But, it wasn't that bad even when temps outside were in the teens and below. It makes more sense now.

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I've started a writing journal. Sheesh, what a great idea and how stupid of me not to think of it before now (ok, I didn't really think of it - I read about it on a writing forum somewhere). In it goes all sorts of little tidbits - all of those things that on the spur of the moment seem incredibly creative and like a really good idea. I always figure I'll remember them, but I never do and within a few hours, they are long gone. This little guy will travel with me and if you see me scribbling a quick note, it's only to ensure that I can keep the memory. I have totally fallen in love with the moleskin journals. Are you kidding me? I love my Calendar Journal and now I have gotten a lined journal. These just make it fun to write.

Yup ... I can't believe I prefer this over some type of electronic item, but there it is.

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I just started reading John C. Maxwell's "Put Your Dream to the Test." Ok, they offered it to me FREE on the Kindle, so I could hardly refuse. Here's the product description from Amazon:

What's the difference between a dreamer and someone who achieves a dream? According to best-selling author Dr. John Maxwell, the answer lies in answering ten powerful, yet straightforward, questions. Whether you've lost sight of an old dream or you are searching for a new one within you, Put Your Dream to the Test provides a step-by-step action plan that you can start using today to see, own, and reach your dream. Dr. Maxwell draws on his forty years of mentoring experience to expertly guide you through the ten questions required of every successful dreamer:

· The Ownership Question
· The Clarity Question
· The Reality Question
· The Passion Question
· The Pathway Question
· The People Question
· The Cost Question
· The Tenacity Question
· The Fulfillment Question
· The Significance Question

More importantly, Dr. Maxwell helps you to create the right answers, giving you principles and tips to so you can make good decisions and maximize every moment to achieve your dream. Don't leave your dream to chance. This book is a must-have and can make the difference between failure and success.

It's an interesting book. I've just started it and am a little overwhelmed at what he's saying to me. In some ways, I've made great strides, yet in others, I might have to cross a bridge that absolutely terrifies me (think: swinging bridge made of hemp over a large gorge - many of the links are missing).

I also read an interesting thing from a publisher who said (in essence) that if a writer can just get the first draft written, they can get on the path to publication. In other words, most people who think they are writers are nowhere near getting even that far.

There is a huge chasm between dreaming about something and then making that dream a reality. Let me tell you from experience that it sometimes seems as if every single stumbling block that could occur ... will occur.

And distractions? They are everywhere! Paying bills, doing taxes, sick animals, sick family members, sick me! And then there are all of the things that I need to read before writing something and those always lead to something else and something else ... and before I know it, I am NOWHERE near my original thought process. There's making a decision about dinner and lunch and letting the dog out and taking a shower and ... oh ... a nap! There's straightening my desk, and emptying the trash and clearing out a bookshelf and folding some laundry and ... oh ... the cat needs snuggling.

THIS is why I need to be a hermit. But, I worry that I would simply find other distractions. Can you imagine the distractions in a wooded area? I'd be a goner. Trees and birds and oh, crap ... there's a tick in my hair. Then, the breeze in the woods and the sound of the river and look! there's a deer in the meadow.

HAH ... I'm never going to get that first draft of my novel written.