Have You Achieved Your Dreams?

Summary

The content recounts the author's persistent pursuit of becoming a published children's picture book author despite numerous setbacks, ultimately realizing the importance of perseverance and the value of family involvement in fulfilling their dream.

Abstract

The author shares a personal journey of chasing a dream to publish a children's picture book. Initially, the dream was deferred due to life circumstances, including mental health challenges and a job unrelated to the dream. Despite early rejections and critiques that pointed out flaws in the author's work, the dream was rekindled through interactions with the author's granddaughter. Collaborating with the great-grandmother for illustrations, they faced challenges with consistency and coloring, leading to a moment of doubt. However, the author decided on a dual approach: creating personal books for the family with the current illustrations and planning for professional illustrations for broader distribution when funds allow. The narrative emphasizes the significance of not giving up on dreams, the process of self-reflection, and seeking clarity from others to overcome obstacles.

Opinions

The author believes that perseverance is crucial when pursuing dreams, even in the face of hopelessness and rejection.
They acknowledge that life's distractions can cause one to sideline their dreams, but these can be revisited and revitalized.
The author values the importance of mentorship and critique in refining one's craft and vision.
They suggest that personal growth and changes in the world may necessitate a new approach to achieving one's dreams.
The author expresses that dreams can evolve, and it's possible to have multiple visions for a single dream, such as creating a legacy for the family and a professionally illustrated book for a wider audience.
They highlight the emotional connection and inspiration that can come from family, particularly the younger generation, in reigniting one's passion.
The author admits to initial resistance to hiring a professional due to concerns about authenticity and cost but recognizes the need for expertise to achieve higher quality.
They convey a message of hope and encouragement, asserting that dreams are worth pursuing over a lifetime and can lead to significant personal gains.

If not, sometimes, all we need is a restart

When you have that dreaded feeling deep inside your gut, the one telling you that to persevere is hopeless, it’s wise to stop listening. What does your gut know, anyway? Yet we’re designed to believe its lies.

Since young adulthood, I dreamed that one day, I’d become a published children’s picture book author. I submitted a few unpolished manuscripts to a popular publisher, but after receiving the rejection letter, life got in the way. Or this is what I tell myself, but truthfully, I got in my way.

I raised three children and rose above years of debilitating mental health issues, including working twenty-five years at a job that had nothing to do with children. I sidelined my dream over the years. It then drifted out of sight.

Three years ago, when the dream returned, I wrote a story. I thought it was cute and funny and had all the makings of a story that would please young children, but something was wrong. Critics in a critique group pointed out that my slapstick humour was aggressive rather than silly, and my ending had a twist that only adults would understand. I began mentoring with a skilled children’s picture book author, and after several reworks of the storyline, I realized some stories were never meant to be.

This occurred in 2021 after I joined Medium, so I again ditched the idea of writing children’s stories and instead focused on writing personal essays and practiced creating short forms. My experience with kids was a thing of the past, and much had changed in the world of picture books. COVID kept me away from children as parks were bare, schools didn’t allow visitors, and libraries had no story groups, so creating for adults made more sense.

Then, in 2023, while visiting my three-year-old granddaughter, I created a story that Addy adored and helped cultivate further. Suddenly, visions of making a children’s picture book returned with a vengeance, bringing my dream back into view.

It was time to start again, with the same vision but a new story.

I reworked the story while Addy and the rest of the grandchildren’s great-grandmother created the illustrations. We worked weekend after weekend jointly designing the pictures until we had completed a picture book we both could be proud of, but there were issues. Our inexperience caused the protagonist to differ in each illustration, as did many characters. Our attempts to add colour, both manually and digitally, failed, leaving the venture dead in the water.

We were two novices needing help, but we didn’t know what to do other than to hire someone to redesign the sketches. I worried that the integrity of the pictures would be compromised and the expense was too great for a book with certain flaws.

Mom and I shelved the idea. My dream once again took a back seat. I was ready to give up, yet that would mean my vision would die. I couldn’t allow it. I refused to admit defeat. It was time for a restart. I called my daughter, sat and discussed to get clear what my true vision for the book looked like. Did I want a published book created by my family or have a professional children’s picture book with illustrations that would make children everywhere smile?

It then came to me. I could have both, so here I am, back on the happy trail with a clear path toward my destination. We will use our less-than-perfect illustrations to create personal books for the family. These are the ones that will be our legacy for the (great) grandchildren to cherish, and when funds permit, I will hire a professional illustrator to create a picture book worthy of broader distribution.

Sometimes, when things aren’t going as planned, and our dreams aren’t following the course we set for ourselves, we shouldn’t give up on them because the answers aren’t far away. We need to sit with ourselves, not panic, reach out to others for clarity, and do whatever it takes to make our dreams come true.

One day, I hope to say I’m a published children’s picture book author of a story that began as a prototype for the family to serve as a legacy, then blossomed into a fully coloured, identically drawn beloved story that sits on many children’s shelves worldwide.

If there’s one thing I wish to convey through all this, it’s to never give up on your dreams. They matter. And even if it takes a lifetime to come to fruition, what have you got to lose? More importantly, think about how much you can gain.

Emma Vincent inspired this story through her prompt, “New beginnings. What drives/influences/inspires you to start/restart?”

If you’re looking for this month’s prompts, The Challenged’s got you covered.

Here are the participants and supporters of the pub’s challenges. Please show their stories some love. (Please let me know if you want your name removed from or added to the list. Either is easy to do, per your request. All you need to do is ask in the comments or a note.)

Have You Achieved Your Dreams?

If not, sometimes, all we need is a restart

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