In fact it was an epiphany in the night. The whole thing is posted here but I thought I'd share the main thought.

Ever since I was a kid I have loved stories and story telling. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to write a book so that I could tell a story. For almost my entire life I have seen these two things as one and the same. Now I am realising that this is not the case.

I have never written a book but I have told, either on my own or as a part of a group, literally hundreds of stories. My attraction to roleplaying is to the story telling.

I realise that what I am is less of a novelist (well not one actually as I have never written one) and more of a storyteller.

I love the interplay between the storyteller and the audience, or between multiple storytellers. I have some stories of my life that I have told many times and yet I am sure that no retelling is exactly the same. The reactions and responses of the listerners shapes the content and format of the story, even though the overall story is effectively formulaic.

I go through phases of telling stories to the kids, where they set the basics (who is the main character and what happens) and then I tell them a story that connects their dots. Zoe has even started doing this in her own way (yay!).

I doubt I could ever earn a living as a story teller, but the more I think about it the more possibilities there are. It's like a door to a whole new world has been opened and I stand in the opening marvelling at the view...