I cannot remember a time when I was not writing stories in my head.
I suppose now creativity has been replaced with terms like ADHD, personality disorder, social anxiety ... even the invention of AI has robbed us of the luxury of creating conversations and stories in our minds without being accused of borderline insanity. Still, I do it every day.
I imagine conversations before they happen. I create situations and solutions, worry about possible confrontations with others, and am continually disappointed when real life is more boring than the scenarios I create in my head.
For example, let's say a trip to the grocery store is in my future. I may imagine who I may run into at the store, craft an entire conversation in my head, decide it's too risky to venture out, stay home instead and then regret not walking down the produce aisle to select the perfect head of lettuce for fear of having to speak with a nosy neighbor.
In today's world, we dub that social anxiety ... I call it "writer's brain."
I wrote my first book at the age of eight. I can vividly remember sitting in a classroom, bored beyond belief, hiding sheets of looseleaf paper behind a folder and writing a chapter book about a dog. My young mind was forever inventing stories, characters, possible situations, and imagining new worlds.
It is a small tragedy that today's children find constant entertainment via smart phones, immersing themselves in digital, AI-generated worlds that are mind-numbing and designed to rob them of the wonder that used to fill the heart of childhood.
I write for children because I believe they still want to believe in imagination, wonder, and the power of creativity.
And because the stories just come to me ... they always have, and they always will.
