Why I write…

You know those little kids that when you ask them, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” they stand there and list off about 15 different things, ranging from astronaut to CPA?

Ok, maybe a kid wouldn’t say “CPA” but you get my gist… They want to be anything and everything.

Well, I was one of those kids. I wanted to be a doctor, a vet, a teacher, a secretary (yes, that was actually on my list), a dolphin trainer, and the list goes on… and on… and on…

Even now as an adult I constantly think, “Maybe I should have gone into…”

My desire to  experience so many different careers is one of the many reasons that I love to write. Because, when I’m writing, I can be a doctor, detective, secretary… I can be whoever it is I want to be!

In addition to that, I simply love history. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live in a different time.

As a matter of fact, one of the first things I ever wrote, when I was in 5th grade, was a story set in the Middle Ages. I went to the Barnes & Noble, got myself two books on the life and society in Medieval England, read them cover to cover, and dove into my own little world of knights and princesses, jousts and tournaments.

I don’t think I ever actually finished that story… but, last I remember, I was up to about 80 pages in a Word document. Not to shabby for a 10 year-old.

I’ve always loved to write because I’ve always had an active imagination and an insatiable curiosity.

Today, those original driving forces that kept me glued for hours to my Windows 95 desktop are still very much a huge component of why I continue to delve into the wonderful world of writing.

I want to experience everything. I want to feel everything. I want to discover, challenge, question, and explore everything. And, while I may not be able to actually do all of those things “in real life,” getting to do so through the eyes of my characters, for me, is just as satisfying.