False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

Where Do Stories Come From?

I found a stack of my old report cards from elementary school. They are not a testament to academic promise, let me tell you. Each teacher, year after year, complained that I daydreamed in class and did not pay attention. And they were right. I was bored (Dick and Jane, really? How come the boy gets to do all the fun stuff?) By the end of 6th grade I had become a master at mentally escaping any situation into the made up stories running through my head. When I got older, I also escaped into other people's stories--in books. How great it was to be able to spend a whole day reading on the back porch. Somehow, the two streams of my imagination and the creativity of other writers crossed paths and I started writing stories--all kinds, from fan fiction to mysteries to fictionalized biographies. These days, usually a story starts with a character who shows up in my imagination and invades my life. When she moves in to stay, I know I have to write her story. And eventually, she tells me what it is.