Make Your Creative Dreams Real by SARK

"I wanted to write a book to help all the creative dreamers make their creative dreams even more real. ... I have a lot to share about struggle and success, and the long flat places in between. My experiences as a recovering procrastinator and perfectionist give me a keen understanding of how they work to delay creative dreams (and why that's sometimes a good thing). I admit my 'splendid imperfections' because I know that y mistakes and stumblings can be of use for others." - From the Introduction

I was first introduced to SARK during the summer of 2004 by Kristen Fischer, author of Creatively Self-Employed: How Writers and Artists Deal with Career Ups and Downs. Kristen had known me for a year by that point and could see that I was in need of a creative boost. Not necessarily a change, but something that would add fuel to the fire that was already burning (though, could have been extinguished if she hadn't stepped in). Fischer had been a long time fan of SARK's work and quickly provided a ling to Make Your Creative Dreams Real. I'm embarrassed to admit that, before Fischer sent this link to me, I had never heard of this person before or her books. But, because I trusted Fischer's advice and saw how SARK's influence had put such a positive spin on her career, I ordered the book without question.

I'll never forget the day Make Your Creative Dreams Real landed on my doorstep. It was like I was opening the door to a better future and a more creative life when I opened the door, grabbed the package and opened it up. I was so excited to get started that I dropped the project I was working on (a painting that incorporated slides that would be back-lit so the images appeared through cut-outs - see, it was a memorable day!) and immediately sat down to read.

What captured my attention first was the visual pages. I learned that she ordinarily hand-writes all of her books but, because she had so much information to present in this one, printed fonts (though dramatically presented by a great design team!). All the art on each and every page was created by SARK, though, and presented in bold colors on pages that feel like they're directly from her art journal.

SARK organized this book in such a way that it's a year long program. Each chapter is dedicated to a month of exploring creativity, learning about yourself and processing information.

Here's what the book includes:
1: Fantastic First Month: Finding and Naming Your Dreams
2: Succulent Second Month: The Land of No
3: Treasured Third Month: The World of Yes
4: Feisty Fourth Month: Making Creative Dreams Real in MicroMOVEments
5: Fabulous Fifth Month: Creative Dream Support Systems
6: Sublime Sixth Month: Committing to Your Dream and Keeping it Moving
7: Superb Seventh Month: Inspiring Stories and Examples of Creative Dreams and Dreamers
8: Ecstatic Eighth Month: Living Your Creative Dreams
9: Nourishing Ninth Month: Nourishing You and Your Creative Dreams
10: Terrific Tenth Month: What You and Your Dreams Need Now
11: Energizing Eleventh Month: Managing and Growing Your Creative Dreams
12: Tender Twelfth Month: Living Elegantly and Successfully With Your Creative Dreams
Acknowledgments
Resources

Prior to reading this book, I was always a creative person and art or writing (most often, both) was part of my daily routine. While I had confidence to sell my writing and actively seek out markets, selling my art wasn't really anything I thought I could accomplish successfully. When I completed this book (and revisited some of the sections several times), I started creating things specifically to sell and sold them! Yes! Actual sales! I was shocked. I never thought that would happen and, for quite some time, it had been on my list of creative dreams.

Readers will delight in the knowledge that they don't have to read this book from cover to cover in order for it to work for them. SARK's set it up in such a way that readers can jump around from section to section, focusing on topics that pertain to them at the time of the reading. It was when I made that discovery that I determined that this was more than just some book that would teach me something - it was a guide that would continue to enrich me.