I had a Dream

…that the world was at peace—even if it was for a short time. The world breathed easier and it released some tortured souls of blame...provided closure for others. Even though it still existed, we felt a unity knowing evil can be defeated. A unity in knowing that violence swirls around the world—sometimes behind a mask of religion. But in this dream, we smiled at an encouraging future…hope massaged our hearts.

…that our journey back to the U.S. was completed by finding work. The worry of separation didn’t exist, and we began building and saving for our future. We savored our luck, thanked the Lord for our blessings, and vowed to never separate again. In this dream, we found a home, married, and over the years, watched our bodies decline. But in this dream, our spirit remained mesmerized with all the things we learned about each other.

…that I published my novel and it was a success. The days of repeated revisions for my book to grow stronger were worth it. My plot and characters satisfied even the worst critics. I found an inner peace from believing in myself…an understanding that I DO have writing strengths. Through the years, I continued to write poetry, short stories and a few more novels…some for me…some for you. But in this dream, I not only wrote a bestseller, I lived it too.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

I finally did it. I completed my first full revision yesterday and it feels great. It’s like returning to your favorite tavern—realizing how much you missed and enjoyed it. When I first wrote this novel, it was without a thought to fix, promote or possibly publish it. The discipline to write without worrying about editing is what drove the story. I can honestly say it wrote itself. Sometimes I felt like my fingers struggled to keep up with the intertwining characters and plot as I pounded away at the keys trying to make that 30 day deadline of 50,000 words. That was the main goal.

Now after sitting down with my novel again, reintroducing myself to the characters and experiencing the story after a lapse of time, it made me realize the dream could become reality. At times, I even reread lines asking myself, “Did I really write that?”! And then there were sentences I read and asked myself, “Were you drinking when you wrote that?” Overall, I’m proud of the characters and story I created, which isn’t something I normally say when it comes to my writing. I’m critical of the words I link together, along with being critical of other writers. Not so critical of the grammatical errors as I am of the character and plot—texture and flavor of a story.

But I arrived to the point in my novel where I sighed with satisfaction—an unplanned journey that I hope in time many will read—where everybody knows my name.