“If you are waiting for your ship to come in, you must start working days, nights, and weekends….building the dock.” Anonymous

When we dream of doing. of writing, something big, it’s easy to fantasize about what it will be like when our ship comes in. We see it, laden, with treasure, its white sails leaning and catching the wind, speeding toward us. It’s a lovely image, a lovely daydream.

But the dock? Building the dock? That seems so mundane, so ordinary!

And yet, the wise person who shared this thought knew something that’s key to our success. We have no control over the ship that we envision sailing toward us. We can’t control the wind or the tides.

But we can get ready to receive it—we can build the dock.

We are building the the dock when we get up every day ready to work, ready to tackle whatever thorny writing problems come our way.

We are building the dock when we refuse to let rejections get us down and discourage us. When we shake them off and just keep going.

We are building the dock when we gather other people around us to help us make our dreams come true, when we share our enthusiasm for a project and it becomes contagious.

And we are building the dock when we realize that every step we take towards our goal nails another plank in our dock and brings that ship closer to shore.

So let’s keep dreaming. Let’s keep seeing that ship of ours, filled with all the treasures we desire—an agent, a book contract, devoted readers—whatever it is we’re seeking. And then let’s get to work and build the dock to give our dream safe harbor.

Write on!