A lot of us can talk a good game, and maybe even set goals, but how often does someone actually make a dream come true in their lifetime? Imagine a well-thought out plan coming to complete fruition. Imagine the privilege of being able to pay all your bills and still have money left over by doing something you absolutely love.

If you’re a creative artist waiting tables or working three jobs just to make rent, you can relate. Students in the creative writing specialty of the English department dream of earning a decent living from their published work. Ask anyone on faculty who teaches creative writing courses what students’ odds are of getting published, and they’ll tell you it’s slim to none. Not because the ISU English department isn’t a quality writing program; on the contrary — whispers around the halls say that the publishing market is saturated. There are just too many manuscripts of would-be novelists and writers piled high and collecting dust on editors’ desks. So how do starving creative writers pay their bills? They seek shelter in the safety of academia and teach creative writing to younger writers with the same dreams.

Anyone who strives to become a published fiction writer is well aware of the pitfalls of the trade.

Fortunately, that harsh reality did not scare away a brilliant, determined 37-year-old fiction writer from Edinburgh, England, whose only goal was to have one published book.

This aspiring writer was no stranger to poverty and struggle, nor did she wait for a “good” time to begin writing. Living on public assistance as a newly divorced single mom, she remembers writing in notebooks (who had money for a computer?) in small cafes around town, daughter in tow. Naptime sent her pen racing (who had money for daycare?).

Joanne Kathleen Rowling had no idea that her series about a boy wizard-in-training would actually get published, let alone skyrocket into an international phenomenon. She was just doing what she loved and trying to put food on the table for herself and her child.

In one of her rare published on-line interviews, Rowling says the idea for Harry Potter came to her during a long train journey from Manchester to London . Five years later, she now finds herself staring at her name on the glossy bound cover of a book.

Why do Harry Potter’s adventures connect with so many people? Maybe everyone dreams they could create a potion, cast a spell or wave a magic wand and their troubles would go away. Maybe readers are intrigued with the funky-sounding names and places. The stories focus on universal themes of good triumphing over evil, the angst of being a kid and coming of age. Rowling puts it this way: “I really wrote Harry Potter for myself, it is my sense of humor in the books, not what I think children will find funny, and I suppose that would explain some of the appeal to adults. On the other hand, I think that I have very vivid memories of how it felt to be Harry’s age, and children seem to identify strongly with Harry and his friends.”

Rowling has been described as a legend in her lifetime. She knew she wanted to be a published author since age six, which was when she attempted her first book. Her mother died, and her first marriage fell apart during her work on the first Harry Potter book. Rowling appreciates her success, but dislikes all the publicity and media exposure that goes with the territory of fame.

Oddly enough, Rowling’s books have cooked up some spells of controversy among a few conservative religious groups.

Some believe they detect witchcraft in the making and casting of spells, and the powers invoked are derived from the devil. But aren’t the good wizards (Harry and his friends) trying to use their magic to fight evil? Harry Potter is about mystery, intrigue and adventure. It’s a celebration of imagination and creativity, not witchcraft and sorcery.

If Harry Potter has gotten a thumbs down for dark magic, then shouldn’t critically-acclaimed Christian author C.S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia” get a thumbs down for its tales of adventures in magical lands with witches, evil and talking animals? And Rowling has said C.S. Lewis was one of the most influential writers she read as a child.

Rowling’s Harry Potter has created a renaissance of reading. Kids and adults can’t wait to hunker down and discover the latest adventure, although standing in line all night at local bookstores to ensure one’s copy may be going a little overboard in enthusiasm. If a seventh-grader is immersed in a Harry Potter book, they aren’t going to look for trouble on the streets, smoke, drink or do drugs. No amount of spells or potions can be copied or replicated at home because they’re all based on fantasy and imagination.

J.K. Rowling is an example to aspiring fiction writers or any creative artist. Yes, it’s tough to get published or even noticed among so much competition, and there is no such thing as a “good” time to write or hone your craft. But in spite of naysayers and negativity, we shouldn’t allow anyone to tell us our dreams aren’t worth striving for.