What is it...

Flashback with me to the mid-1970s (really, I'm not obsessed with the '70s, I just seem to frequently go there in my stories); this was a time when bell-bottoms were cool and shag carpet was the ultimate in luxury. I think I was in grade 4 when I really started to put pen to paper, make up stories. Words and sentences were interesting at that point because it's a time when you really are learning about the power of writing.

But, back to the story. I would write these weekly stories (some fact, some fiction) about whatever, and tape them to the side of my desk. I remember this particular time when Monty, a kid I used to sit beside, asked me what I was doing. I simply told him I wrote a story about the Titanic. I had cut out the story into a 'ship' shape and placed it where others could read it.

Doing this was something that I enjoyed. It was all about creating. I'm sure Monty thought it was a bit bizarre that I was making up my own school projects. Then again, Monty had a deep fascination with maps; he couldn't stop drawing them. So, I guess in a way, we were both on the page.

What I'm getting at here is we all have these passions that start at a young age. Mine was writing, and it took me many years to figure it out. What about yourself? What gets you going? Is it writing? What kind of writing? And why aren't you doing it? What is holding you back? Is it fear? When you're a kid, you have very little fear and plunge forward without a care in the world.

Get back to that place where fear wasn't even in your vocabulary. Today, write something that happened in the past, or about a person in your life, fact or fiction. It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that you are writing.