“When you stop having dreams & ideals – well, you might as well stop altogether.” ― Marian Anderson

Many years ago I befriended a chap who shared my literary dreams. One day we made a pact to finish a first book. That night I began. The next night I continued. Hope surged through me, passion tingling at my fingertips as I picked up my pen. I was dreaming and, at long last, I was actually acting upon my dreams. A month into the pact, halfway through my first draft, I realised my friend had stopped writing and started making excuses. He was too tired, too busy, too something or other. I cajoled and encouraged, I tried to inspire. But it was no use. I finished my book. Then another, and another. It was many years before I was finally published but, on that day, I thought of my friend. He was still talking about wanting to be a writer, but really he’d given up. And I knew then that, when you stop dreaming you might as well stop altogether.

Pic: I wrote this tonight while sitting in the cafe of my local lovely cinema – this was the program next to me: dreamy!