Dreaming is inevitable.

When we sleep, our brains put together a collage of images that we cannot control. The art of dreaming is something that happens whether we want it to or not. Some believe dreams are whispers from God; some believe they are glimpses into our inmost desires. Whatever they are, dreams cannot be helped.

And so it is with our living dreams, those goals and aspirations we have in life to be something more, achieve something great–to have our lives mean something. Dreaming in such a way cannot be helped–at least, I have not found a way to do so!

I find myself pushing, striving, moving onward toward the next goal. It is a seemingly irrational force that compels me. Because in this poor economy, the pursuit of my dreams has caused me to quit a stable full-time job and turn to a less-stable (but ultimately freeing!) freelance and adjunct teaching lifestyle.

I must be some kind of crazy, right?

I have always felt the need to write. Ever since I stapled a handful of papers together and composed a great masterpiece called “How to Make Mud Pie,” I have felt the need to express my thoughts through the written word. Poetry poured out of me when my mother was dying of cancer and I questioned my faith. My thoughts on teenage self-image came to fruition through a creative essay. Furthermore, I’ve written everything from straight-up hard news stories to fluffy features and medical conference coverage pieces.

I wanted to pursue creative writing for my undergraduate degree, but I took the journalism route in order to ensure a job after graduation (I was blessed to get one!). So, for awhile, I took a break from the creative scene. But my love of creative writing was sparked in a fiction class I took during my master’s program.

And thus, a dream was born.

This blog will follow my journey to write a novel in a year. I plan to include writing tips, victories, and frustrations. I’ll share what I learn along the way and occasionally post some excerpts from my working piece. My hope is that my readers (if there are any out there!) will be encouraged and will take something away, if not just a good laugh at my expense. I am confident that God can take this dream I have and move mountains to accomplish what He wills in me.

So here’s to craziness and the pursuit of a dream!