I’ve been struggling lately with my writing. Writer’s block? Not really. It’s more like a judgmental voice at the back of my head saying, “That’s too cliche.” Or, “Who would ever want to read that? Don’t kid yourself.”

And all I can think about is that I never had this issue before. When I was a kid, everything I wrote was gold. Everything was going to be the next bestseller. And you can bet I believed it! As a result, all of my work from the younger years – every story, every poem, every comic – was written with unwavering confidence. Don’t get me wrong – none of that work is by any means Shakespeare. If anything, it’s absolutely ridiculous. But boy, was it fun to read! Among the gems I’ve uncovered are:

• An advertisement for hyacinths that steal underwear
• A story about an alien who farted his way to Earth and continues using farting as a means of transportation to explore numerous countries
• A comic of how I imagined my parents met (believe me, this one was hilarious)
• A tale of two secret-agent mice rescuing a horse from the top of a mountain
• “Faline’s Adventure” – in which a young horse hops on a duck’s back to cross a stream
• Numerous stories about kids finding portals to hidden worlds and struggling to find their way back (they encounter some pretty wacky characters)

I think the first draft of anything should be written like a kid. Forget the self-editing, forget the voice in the back of your head. Write for pure enjoyment. Because during that time, during the first draft, you are invincible. You’re invincible, you’re perfect, and your writing is the best thing that has ever graced this planet. Once it’s written, you can go back and edit – you can tear it to shreds if you need to – but right up until the end of that first draft, you’re a kid on top of the world. So write like it!