Today at Quotable Tuesday, I am delighted to host friend, fellow VCFA alum and writer Mima Tipper. When I asked her what quote inspires her as a writer or keeps her going when the publishers aren’t making house calls, she said, “One of my fave quotes taped over my writing desk is:

“…Within your heart, keep a still, secret spot where dreams may go.”

“It’s a line from “Hold Fast Your Dreams” by 19^th century poet Louise Driscoll. There are two “whys” behind these words and me: 1) The words themselves. Like pretty much everyone I know—in the arts and beyond—my time is maxed with the pleasures and chaos of life, and often finding the quiet I need for my writing is a challenge. Since I have to write, I make the time—whenever, wherever, however I am able. I think the reason I keep making that time is because of that place Louise’s words describe. That place I keep inside me that is still and secret and brimming with dreams. I treasure that place. I hold on to that place. Some days with knuckles so white that holding on takes every bit of strength I possess.

“2) How the words came. A few years ago (when I was in the thick of working toward my MFA at VCFA!) I checked out several children’s books at my local public library. Inside one, I found a pretty bookmark with Louise’s words scrolled across in lovely calligraphy. I’d never found anything of the sort in a library book before (and haven’t since) and almost wanted to keep the bookmark because of how it spoke right to me, inspiring me on my journey to earn my degree and live my writing dream. I decided not to keep it, though. Such a Mom! I wanted to share, knowing someone else—like me—would need to find those words. When I finished the book, I copied the quote onto a sticky note, tucked the bookmark back between the book’s pages, and returned book and mark to the library. I like thinking the bookmark is still in circulation, in that book or another, giving others (maybe even another writer) an oh-so necessary boost to keep going, keep trying, keep dreaming.”

And so we do. Thank you, Mima, for sharing that quote here.

On the Mima news front, Hunger Mountain’s online Journal of the Arts published  her first YA short story, “A Cut-Out Face” this past fall. Then in January Sucker Literary Magazine published a second YA short story, “Waiting for Alice”, in its premiere online issue. Speaking of Sucker, Mima’s interview with Sucker’s editor-in-chief Hannah Goodman is currently running on Through the Tollbooth and a series of pieces about how Mima wrote  “…Alice” is running on author Janet Fox’s blog Through the Wardrobe. Check them out.

Mima Tipper is represented by Erzsi Deàk of Hen & Ink Literary Studio, and can be found @meemtip on Twitter.