The Game Plan

Game plans, action plans, attack plans, working plans, strategic plans, tactical plans…whatever they are called, no one can deny their importance. Everyone has a plan….CEOs, administrators, professional athletes, agents, managers, etc.

So, what is mine?

Several, several years ago, when the St. Louis Rams were still the "Greatest Show on Turf", my husband recommended a short weekend getaway to the Rams training camp. (I guess now is a good time to tell you that I am an avid football fan. So, I did not consider the trip unpleasant.)I took in everything those mornings we sat ogling our gridiron heroes.


I realize now, like a professional athlete preparing for a championship season, I have quite a bit of work to do. Like the Rams, I need to do conditioning drills, attend practice and devise a winning game plan.


But, how does one even sit down and begin to scratch out a playbook? Study game film? Exactly. I have spent the last months reading several blogs from authors, publishers, agents, etc. I mined out a few gems that I believe can get me started. (I would like to mention Alice Pope’s Blog on Children’s Writers’ and Illustrators’ Market. I read her blog first and used it as a way of locating other blogs, using some of her recommendations. Alice, if you ever read this, a heart-felt thank you.)


My Game Plan:

1. Conditioning

• Read, Read, Read.
• Continue to mine blogs for useful information. Any information learned now, can only help later.
• Seek out Critique group and writer's support.

2. Attend Practice

• Write daily on blog.
• Write on project daily. (I believe the quote was "Ass in seat and write."

3. Devise winning plan.

Do I expect this all to work the first time? No. I know that at times I will have to scramble, change course, and punt. The game will never be perfect, but that is why there is half-time.

The Dream

"When we are dreaming alone, it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality." ~ Dom Helder Camara


I have never written or spoken a word of my dream. The thought of putting it into words terrifies me. In the thoughts that surround this fantasy of mine, I fear the more that share in my dream the greater the failure I will be if nothing becomes of it. This is how I continue to protect myself. This is how I keep myself from typing a single word.


But today is anew, and today I begin the pursuit of a dream that has existed since I was able to scrawl my first words on paper. Today I begin to hold myself accountable. Today I share my dream.

My Dream

The glow of the dawning sun lights the horizon. I realize I only have a few moments to brush my teeth, make my morning coffee, and stretch the remaining sleep from my body. A morning ritual that I never find tiresome even after all these years in this chosen lifestyle.

Rushing to the kitchen with a renewed sense of purpose, I pull the Columbian coffee beans from the freezer and place an amble amount in the self-grinding coffee maker. Checking the natural clock, the only one I follow, I have more than enough time to wait for the coffee to brew and prepare a whole grain bagel. After smearing Strawberry preserves on the bagel, the coffee maker chimes an alert. I pour a cup and trot up the stairs to continue with the best part of the morning.

I enter my favorite place - a rustic office equipped with just enough modern gadgets to still be considered in touch with society. The office is bookshelf lined with all my favorites, except for a small space holding an overstuffed cream-colored loveseat and floor lamp - my reading nook.

I move across the room to a solid wood desk holding a new computer. Flipping the computer on, praying the internet connection won't fail, I pull a tiny remote from the right-hand drawer. Pointing it at a gadget on the shelf, the room fills with music.

I kick back in my office chair, enjoying the coffee, bagel and view. The sun is just peaking over the mountain top, mixing its orange light with the reds and pinks already painted in the sky. I wait for the sun to strengthen, to warm my face, to light the office.

My fingers run over the keys. Today, it comes easily. I am a writer, an author, an artist of words. Successful and self-supported, I have all the time, solitude and muse-rich environment to perfect my craft.

Lofty, I know, but it is my dream. Now, I begin the pursuit of the dream.