What did you want to be when you grew up?

At various times, I wanted to be a ballroom dancer, a model, a spy, a detective, a doctor, an adventurer, a writer, and a pilot.

I bet you know where this is going.

As an novelist, I get to be all kinds of people doing all kinds of things. My childhood dreams have been turned into art.

From a young age, I was also a maker. My parents fostered in us kids a love of cooking, arts and crafts, storytelling, and building forts with pillows and blankets in the living room.

As an adult, the more I create things the more I want to create: novels, podcasts, graphic novels, and now my first films.

Speaking of -- I'm launching my first film fundraiser soon and I'm so excited.

Celebrating that and celebrating that I've just released the 85th podcast episode of How To Write The Future.

And I'm proud and amazed that I have really stuck with it.

Making a podcast satisfies the maker in me that likes creating and publishing something weekly. Plus, I love the production process as much as I love teaching and interviewing parts.

Now how about you?

What did you want to be as a child when you grew up? I’m so curious.

And do you see threads of that or seeds of that in the work that you do today -- in the stories that you tell, or in your hobbies, or even in your dreams that you still have that you haven’t yet manifested?

Who we are today came from who we were before.

And who we are comes from the day-to-day choices we make.

So fascinating to see what is the same and then also, what is different.

And yet through it all, we have a sense of identity, a sense of self, which imperative to being human. If we don’t know who we are, we feel deep distress.

Maybe you can relate -- I feel like I’ve remade myself many times over the years and I’m sure I will continue to do so.

Through it all, I see a sense of self keeps showing up -- this person who likes to create things, create stories, and create in community with others. And also someone who loves to support others in their creative process.

Many times throughout my life I have faced the distress of not knowing who I was when I was at a crossroads, when I was faced with choosing one path that maybe was considered normal and safe versus the other path which was considered unknown, scary.

I'm drawn in the direction of the unknown.

If you’ve ever been at crossroads in writing a story, editing a story, trying to figure out what to do next, then maybe you know what I’m talking about.

For me, creativity is a series of choices between safe and unknown/scary.

When I look back at my life, I see that I more often than not chose the creative path not because I was trying to be good or virtuous, but because I was pulled toward the unknown.

What's on the cusp of the unknown for you?

Hit reply and let me know.

❤️