Vision Boards: Hooey or Holy Cow?

 I admit it. I'm a huge skeptic. If it even has a faint whiff of something that's more unicorn than concrete, I shut it down. As Hall and Oates sings, "I can't go for that. No, no can do!" 

But recently I've been listening to Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells a Story (don't it)... and I'm hoping that this picture I'm envisioning becomes the story... because I have a big dream.

                                             I see my book becoming a movie.

My publisher has touted vision boards for a long time. Yes, she's accomplished incredible things. But she's Margo Dill. Wouldn't she be fabulously successful without the vision board? 

Then a teacher friend bulldozed me into making a vision board. After grudgingly surrendering, I agreed to show her what I'd done with my board a couple of weeks later...

...and something weird happened. As I was gluing some of the parts together, I was also listening to workshop sessions at the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) national conference (via Zoom). I was drooling over Nikki Grimes as she spoke (she's one of my literary heroes) and because of this vision board who-do voodoo, I thought, I could send a copy of my book to Nikki Grimes. She might be able to help me.

So I looked up her address (an office, of course; you don't think she puts out her home address for weirdly drooling groupies like myself to latch onto, do you?). A book--along with a note--is heading her way.

Then I thought, Garth Brooks needs another copy of my book, along with a nudge. Yes, he received one in May, but it probably got lost dumped at the airport when he left Tulsa. 

                                          one part of my vision board

As I was getting high on Elmer's, I thought I don't know what Henry (my main character) looked like as a boy, but as an old man... Morgan Freeman. I looked up his address. He is also getting a book and a note.

I've always known--since this dream was born--who I think should do the musical score. Daemon Murray. He's a local rapper and can blend different genres in a brilliant way.

                                    another part of my vision board--the little bit of

                                    red you can see says "hanging around the movie

                                    set" because that is part of my vision...

That made me think of how else Daemon can get involved (if he wants). I need a read-aloud version of my book, and it certainly should not be read by an old white lady. Perhaps Daemon would be willing...

This book has always been a joint venture, so that partnership continues in this vision of mine...

 

                              the red part says "flying to LA to negotiate a deal"

The dream continues: I can see Margo and me walking down the red carpet, heading to the Academy Awards. Margo is in a strapless gold bugle-bead number (because she's 6 foot 12, young and thin and can wear anything). Because I binge-watched a bunch of old Project Runway episodes a while ago. I fixated on one dress a designer made. It had a love letter written across the satin. My dress will have part of my book written across it.

                                  another part of my vision board. The red parts

                         say "packed theaters" and "speaking at movie premieres"

The final part of my vision board involves a trip to France. My granddaughter (a high school sophomore) is taking advanced French. My book is--at this very moment--getting translated into French. I can see the both of us traveling to France to do book events, along with my French sister Virginie (who's doing the translating--she's also a novelist).

                                           another part of my vision board

If this vision board gets some concrete results, I'll have to swallow my prideful skepticism and eat some crow. Until then, how about you? Do you believe in magic... and vision boards?

Sioux Roslawski is a middle school teacher, a freelance writer, and the proud author of Greenwood Gone: Henry's Story. You can read more of her meanderings at https://siouxspage.blogspot.com

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5 comments Daemon Murray, Greenwood Gone: Henry's Story, Margo Dill, Morgan Freeman, Nikki Grimes, Sioux Roslawski, vision boards

Vision Boards... and the Wisdom of 8th Graders

The other day my 8th graders and I were brainstorming emotions for possible memoir stories. We were coming up with ideas like "incredibly excited--when my team won the soccer tournament." The idea was to jot down just a few words to jog our memory, so later, we could write some rough drafts and then even later, we could decide which story we wanted to invest some time in as we revised and edited and shared.

                                                                 image by Pixabay

I was sharing my memoir ideas because in my class, I write right alongside my students. To get them started, I went through each emotion as we took notes, and wrote down the experience I would write about.

One student asked, "Could a story be about a dream?" After ascertaining they did not mean the story itself would not be a fantasy, I said certainly.

"If you had a dream--and you either struggled with it and it never came true or it did come true, that would make an awesome story."

Another student stopped me dead in my tracks. He's the class barometer. When the students need some levity (which according to him, is every 15.7 seconds) he provides it. However, there are other times when he adds a serious/poignant/mind-blowing moment. This was one of them.

"What's your dream, Mrs. R?" He was sitting in the front row, less than four feet away as I danced and cajoled and tried to keep all of them engaged.

That's when I came to screeching halt. Quickly I recovered (you don't want to slow down around 8th graders, or they'll either make a break for it or attack).

"Getting my book published was my dream."

He came right back at me. "Well, you've already done that. What's next?"

I thought for just a few seconds. Then it came to me. "I want my book to become a movie."

"There you go," he replied. For him, it was just that simple. One dream's been realized. Work on a new one.

Vision boards... Could one of those help me achieve my next dream?

Don't tell my publisher--because she really believes in the power of vision boards--but I've always thought theey were a bunch of hooey. They might work for some people, but for me? That abra cadabra stuff is not for me.

However, my publisher has had some pretty incredible dreams come true. And my dream of seeing my novel become a movie/Netflix short series/small-town puppet show is a fantastical dream.

Maybe it's time for me to create a vision board...

Here's an article that tells a bit about why vision boards work, and how to do them. 

Here's another article that gives some tips on how to make a vision board (or action board) work more effectively. I read this and learned that Katy Perry (in 4th grade!) created one, and Oprah Winfrey made one when she dreamed that Obama would be elected president... and she included a picture of the dress she'd wear to his inauguration.

How about you? Have you created a vision board?

Sioux Roslawski is a middle school teacher, a dog rescuer and the proud author of Greenwood Gone: Henry's Story

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3 comments vision boards