I believe most children have an active and fertile imagination. Sometimes parents or the school system squash it out of them, sometimes it just gets lost by the wayside, and for the lucky few it is encouraged and admired.
Mine apparently started young, as my mother once told me how she would be entertained for ages, as I talked away to myself about some imagined game while sitting on the potty. Although as you can imagine, I don’t remember those games now, I can just see my young self, weaving my own personal worlds.
In the garden, I used to play for hours being a bus driver on my three-wheeler. I would stop at bus stops, be late, early or just on time. There would be entire stories about the passengers; those who were running late to a birthday party, those who just rode on the bus for the view and those who tried to get on without paying. I always had a lot of fun with that.
When I was about 10, I could spend hours in my bedroom acting out different wars with my toy soldiers; creating the ebb and flow of the battle, the feelings, the blood and smashing defeats or victories.
In fact I can still get into that and, though my books are usually a little lighter.
Though it may seem like normal kid behaviour, I am glad to remember those childish beginnings of my imagination. As a parent, I have always strived to cultivate and not squash the imagination of my children, because no matter the game or idea, that is a child’s best way of expressing his or her own world of fun and interest.
For me, writing is an important method of releasing my switched-on imagination. I can never ignore the stories, worlds and ideas wanting to come out. Writing is my way of doing that…just like those games from a wild young boy once were.
I want to take you on a journey with my blog, from those young days of my life, up until the present and the release of my books. I hope you enjoy!