Did you ever sometimes think, crap, I miss the fun stuff I used to do as a kid... Thinking about crazy things and 'wouldn't it be cool if...'  Well, writing helped me rediscover my imagination and creativivity all over again.  It was a relief to find out it wasn't completely burned out of me.

My passion for writing took off in 2008.  As my nature is to dive 200% into things that I feel strongly about, I started to become very active with writing by joining writing critique groups (now in 3 online ones and 2 in-person ones!) and classes.  I'm also a slush pile editor for a an online mag, Abandoned Towers.  The stories I most enjoy writing are in the fantasy and science fiction genres.  I’m currently working on a YA SF novel and various SF short stories, and I my goal is to get published. 

One thing I realised during all of these writing activities was that I loved brainstorming story/plot ideas.  I had a blast spinning out a myriad of scenarios and coming up with loads of questions.  Not only did I find this fun and energising, but I really got a kick out of helping someone out in their own creative process too.

A great source of inspiration is our children and pretty much the whole world around me.  If you're interested, I sometimes record little anectdoes and stories that involve my children on Jiggybear blog site.  But most ideas I get by just walking outside and seeing some random and often bizarre scene and then bam, I got an idea and an opening sentence or prompt.  Luckily I live in small, but busy Amsterdam, so there's a lot of interesting stuff happening.  Like the other day, I was walking home and saw this smallish man with glasses, in a white dress shirt, his arms waving madly about.  As I approached, he seemed to be talking nonsense with a French accent.  I realised later he was probably talking wirelessly on his mobile, but the whole scene was too funny.  And I thought, what if....  And I pulled out the my mini-journal and wrote it down.

Yes, they aren't kidding when they say that having a journal is very handy for anyone interested in writing.  I have a very compact Moleskin writing notebook and pen on hand every time I step outside the house.  You just never know what you might see when you’re out there.  Like that crazy man waving his arms around while walking down the street.

Some other facts about me include that I have an undergraduate degree in Industrial & Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and an MBA from Columbia Business School.  I’ve also been working in the financial services sector for far too many years now, I think.

I live in Amsterdam, Netherlands with my husband and our two energy-charged children.

Best,

Carolyn Chang

Amsterdam, The Netherlands