the great what-if, a writer's privilege

On days when I can stop and think—and today was that sort of gift of a day—I allow my thoughts to drift. I find, inside stories read, stories that haven't yet been written. And I think:

Oh, how much fun I would have with that.

There are many parts of writing that I could never live without.

The sudden exhilarating what-if epiphany, before a word has been written, is one such part.