Dream Big

 Dream big. Dream a big dream and it might will come true.

This idea of seemingly impossible dreams coming true has been swirling in my head for the past week or so. Three things formed a huge confluence in my brain and--more importantly--in my heart.

One: I spoke to a friend who told me about the major league game that was played on the Field of Dreams field. I know. Technically, they had to create a new field that met the MLB's specifications, but it was on the same plot of land and since my friend taped it, I got to see the beginning. Seeing the players emerge from the cornfields, I got chills.

If you build it, he will come. That was the mantra of the movie. If they built the field, Ray Kinsella's father... the players... the fans--they all came.

Two: I finally reconnected with the student who nudged me into finishing my book. Five years ago, I began writing a story during NaNoWriMo. I did it while I was surrounded by my middle school students. They wrote. I wrote alongside them.

I didn't finish the novel wannabe that school year. However, one student nudged me. At several points during the winter and spring, following the end of NaNoWriMo, Danny questioned me.

Did you finish your story, Mrs. R?

How's your book coming along?

Are you still working on your book, Mrs. R?

The next year, I did finish the manuscript... and Danny was responsible for a good part of the fire that burned inside me. That fire continued to burn as I slogged through a second draft... through querying until I found a publisher that is every writer's fantasy. Because of Danny, a dream that I had when I was 13 came true: there is now a book with my name on the spine.

Lately I've been daydreaming fantasizing considering my book becoming a movie. Perhaps a two-part miniseries on Netflix. I can see it so naturally unfolding, and even figured the perfect point for the first part to end. 

I laugh a bit when I tell friends. A few have asked what I'm working on now, and I say, "I'm actually teaching myself to write a script, because I can see Greenwood Gone: Henry's Story turned into a movie. I know it's crazy..." and then I chuckle.

But is it crazy? It's a big dream, for sure, but is it unobtainable? Should I lay it down, to gather dust, because it's too huge to work towards?

                                                                       image by Pixabay

Three: I came upon an inspiring article. I know the power of three in writing. Apparently the third block/idea packs a wallop as well. This third bit made my doubts topple over. 

The article chronicles a woman who dreamed of writing a cook book. She wasn't a famous chef or a well-known blogger. She was merely a woman who dreamed a dream.

Along her journey, she had many obstacles. However, instead of turning back, she figured out small actions--microactions--to get closer to her ultimate goal.

So, now I am going to work on a script... and when the roadblocks spring up, I'll work on carrying out the small actions that will help me get to the ultimate goal

And my publisher? When I told her about my dream, she laughed--hard--and said, "If that happens, you're going to have to get an agent, because I don't know anything about movie rights," but she's so so wrong. My publisher took a chance on me, we were together from the beginning, and we're going to navigate it and ride it through... together.

Sioux is a freelance writer and the author of Greenwood Gone: Henry's Story, a historical novel for middle grades about the Tulsa Race Massacre. If you'd like to read more from Sioux, check out her blog.