Last week I talked about the joys of having an imagination and how it can pass the time when waiting for something and how it can inspire so much joy in novels.

However, it does have a downside.

Last week I visited a book club. The meeting was in the city, so rather than drive in and have the hassle of finding somewhere to park my car, I took the train in.

As soon as I sat down, my imagination kicked in. Unfortunately, on something like a train, my imagination can go in different directions. This time, the people around me weren’t distracting my attention with their lives. Instead, I was listening to the noise of the train … and remembering all those shows I’ve seen where trains had crashed!

We came around a corner. Were we going too fast? Immediately, I could see our carriage being derailed, passengers flying everywhere. Would we crash into something? Would there be injuries? Would there be … gulp … deaths?

It’s usually at this point that I have to rein my imagination in with a firm hand before I scare myself into jumping off the train.

Even when I arrived at my destination at City Hall, I noticed, as I walked in the door, some of the workers were looking up at the side of the building. Why? Was something hanging up there about to fall on the awning and crush everyone under it? Better hurry inside!

I’d like to think I’m not the only person who terrifies herself this way, so if you too, are an author, or maybe someone with a good imagination who should be an author, please reassure me that I’m not the only insane one here.

So while imaginations can be wonderful things, they can be scary too!