The Big Idea: The Inspiration Behind Moonbeams and Rhyme Dreams, Part 2

It all started with a dream. Really.

Watercolor painting, 2005

It was December 2022, and our household was sick with RSV.  I woke up around 2am in the middle of a fever dream.  It was so wonderfully weird - my head was full of these little rhyming stories and characters.  The creative stream I’d normally feel buzzing in the background, now felt like a tidal wave, and instead of a creative itch, it felt like my entire body was vibrating.  This stuff was pouring out of my brain: Breens, Gares, Yarts, Snoors… I was seeing these silly characters bouncing around in my head, and I could hear these rhyming stories being recited as if I was watching a movie.   I practically ran out of bed and sat in the dark on the living room sofa, writing and sketching everything down on my notepad.  I wrote for 8 hours straight. 

When my wife, Steph, got up the next morning, I was even more delirious due to my lack of sleep.  I showed her my poems and characters and she brushed them off… at first.  She thought I was just remembering some stories from my childhood.   When she realized I had created these all on my own, she was completely blown away.  I read some to our young kids and they too, were loving the silly stories and characters.

At first, I honestly wasn’t sure what to do with them.  I just thought I’d write them down, laugh about them for a day or two with the family, and go on with my life.  Steph encouraged me to keep writing and thought these could really be something.  The funny thing was, it was like I had permanently rerouted a portion of that internal creative stream, and I couldn’t undo it.  The rhymes just kept pushing into my head, whether I wanted them there or not.  It was a nonstop creative itch that I had to keep scratching. So, I spent all weekend writing, and by the end, I think I had roughly 30+ poems written.

Colored Pencils, 2000

After that initial torrent, the creative stream slowed down. I didn't have have the itchy feeling, but I found that if I put in a bit of effort, I could tap into that same creative stream.  After a few months, I had enough poems where I started thinking about compiling them into a book, and possibly a series. 

I imagined these poems fitting into a “diary of dreams”, was written and illustrated by a child.  For the first book, I’d use a nighttime/sleeping theme, since that aligned with my personal experience.  I knew I wanted to write to the 7-10 age range and cater to the same reluctant readers I was. I also wanted to design the book in a smaller format, for easy reading and travel.

Once I had a plan to create a book, it felt like my creativity finally had a real purpose, and combined into something perfectly matched with how my brain works. Creating these books has become a passion for me.

It's hard to believe I wrote, illustrated, and self-published a book, with more on the way. It's still surprising to me, even as I'm writing them. It goes to show that we are all capable of doing hard things, even things that seem impossible.

I’m sure if I could go back in time, my 3^rd grade self would be proud. 

Best of all, my kids love the stories, and they've even started creating their own poems and characters.

I truly wish that everyone can be inspired one day to chase their own dreams, too.

Next Up - The Book Hook: My starting criteria, and how constraints focus my creativity