Playtime is not over
I found my passion for writing during playtime.
In other words: playing with toys as a child helped me realize that I wanted to be a writer.
If I hadn’t spent a decent amount of time pretending like my action figures and other three-dimensional objects were real and interacting with each other, I may not have discovered the art of storytelling at a young age.
But this discovery wasn’t necessarily about the toys. It had more to do with what was going on in my mind while playing with them. I imagined things.
Playtime was an opportunity for me to use my imagination. I imagined my toys were characters in a story.
By doing that, I became the creator of the world these characters lived in. As the creator, I had the power to weave the story in any direction I pleased. And that’s how I became a storyteller.
I created so many stories. So much so, my mother encouraged me to document them. And that’s how I started writing.
That was about two decades ago.
Two decades ago, playtime was a thing—a period set aside for recreation.
Get it? Recreation. 😉
Playtime was an opportunity for me to think outside the box, create new worlds and imagine a better version of the one I lived in.
Today, I don’t have playtime scheduled on my calendar. It’s not a thing. There’s time, albeit never enough, for just about everything else.
And the busyness of it all can keep me stuck within the limits of reality, forgetting that I’m a creator, refusing to imagine new possibilities, and being unwilling to document them.
My childhood may be over but that doesn't mean playtime is. - Ron Olson
In recent times, I’ve become more mindful of these constraints. I’ve also realized that time isn’t the only constraint here.
My circumstances, surroundings, and interactions can be constraints, and I have to be aware of their impact on my ability to create, imagine and write.
Unlike two decades ago, I can’t wait for moments or periods set aside for recreation.
So, I’m creating them and putting myself in situations, environments, and conversations that encourage creativity, spark my imagination and make me a better writer.
I found my passion for writing during playtime. So, I’m spending more time playing—so to speak.
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