By Susan Wagner

I’m a bit irritated today at the dreariness of winter. I can’t run off to a completely secluded life on a warm island somewhere. Damn. Instead, I plan to run into writing and see where that takes me.

Writing in my childhood, I wrote about small things or things I imagined. I read a lot of Greek and Roman mythology. So, sometimes I wrote characters or stories set in that time period. It was a lot more interesting living there in that story than on an old farm.

I branched out to natural wonders – mostly mountains and woods. This was due to seeing the movie, Heidi, and having miles of woods behind our property. To this day, I love mountains. I love woods.

Visual learning is effective for me. Photos, movies and television give me ideas all the time. The ideas are mostly based on my feelings and not on the plot or specific characters of photos or shows.

At different stages of my life, I’ve written on the same topics. It’s a way of integrating my past with a new understanding of the present. I can do it in my head, but because I’m a writer, I write it.

I’ve done this often and yet can still be surprised by the integration of new and old. Words pour out of my head. When I read what I wrote, I sometimes think – Oh, yes. That’s what it is – or – that’s what it will be. It’s become an adventure for me.

And that’s one of the best things about being a writer – the adventure! Characters, plots, twists and emotions are all at your fingertips. You don’t need permission. You don’t need money. You don’t even need a computer. You only need a pen or pencil and something to write on.

Now and then as a kid, I’d be out in the woods and an idea would come to me. I remember using a small stick to scratch words on bark, which I’d carry in my pocket. Today, I carry a notebook everywhere, but in a pinch, will use anything available.

I daydream and I write. It can take me away for hours. It’s exhilarating and sometimes, aggravating, but it’s always good for me.

So, off I go –