Have you ever made a wish list? As a kid, mine included toys. As an adult, it includes a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Dark red, please. :)
What about a wish list of a different sort, the kind that includes goals and dreams?
When I worked as a homeschool consultant for a New Jersey homeschool network, we had a curriculum counseling program for parents and students. The high school program's customized educational plan encouraged teens to make up a wish list. We asked teens a series of questions, which included the following:
Who inspires you? Why?
What careers interest you?
What types of books do you like to read?
What period of history interests you most? Why?
If money were no object, what activities would you like to do? Where would you travel? We found that wish lists often contained cues or patterns - things or areas that students might pursue via study, hobby, recreation, etc. This could offer clues for careers, goals, and dreams. We encouraged students to add to and reassess the lists through their high school years.
I wondered recently how this idea related to the writer’s life. What might we learn through a wish list? Could it help focus a dream? Urge us to reach for a lofty goal? Clear mental confusion and clutter? Light a fire in a discouraged heart?
I wonder if a wish list should be a requirement for writers, to encourage us, to help us dream big, clarify a niche, reveal strengths, interests, and potential writing opportunities. What do you think?
While writing this post, I stumbled across this quote by Les Brown, and thought it rather fitting.
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”
Swinging among the stars doesn’t sound like a bad idea, does it?
Where do your writing dreams take you?
Happy writing, Karen :)
Karen Lange is a freelance writer, editor, blogger, an online writing instructor at the coffeehouseforwriters.com, and the author of two books for homeschool parents. Her articles have been featured in numerous print and online publications. She's a big fan of dark chocolate, historical fiction, and ice hockey. Visit Karen at her blog, karenelange.blogspot.com
