We all have a creative spark somewhere that inflames us and causes us to do wonderful things. Sometimes, it’s getting that perfect photograph of a raccoon clutching a tree branch in the forest. Sometimes, it’s painting that perfect image of a bowl of fruit sitting on a kitchen table. It could be sewing the most amazing costume or creating a piece of scenery that will knock audiences dead. Creativity is within us all.

I was reminded of that—in addition to how we never know when it will burst out of our bodies and into the real world—when I was interviewing an author this week telling me about his books. What caught my attention wasn’t the story, but instead the fact that he has published several books already.

That might seem an odd thing to fixate on, but I haven’t told the whole story. Said author is 15. No, that’s not the number of literary awards he’s won, but his age.

It got me thinking how much the writing world has changed. Yes, I was writing when I was 15, but they weren’t the sort of things that filled hundreds of pages. Mostly, I was writing stage plays, a much shorter medium by comparison. Plays run from two to three hours when acted out, while an audiobook I narrated exceeded seven hours.

This author had five books listed on Amazon, plus his first one, which he doesn’t have in circulation anymore. People I encounter are surprised that I’ve published almost 30 books (currently working on one right now). It will be 20 years in 2027 since I published my first novel, and I’m turning 50 later this year, but the inspiration for me to finally take the plunge took place in 2006.

Could I have been inspired to write books at a younger age? Probably, but then I looked at the circumstances surrounding me at age 15, and it occurred to me that it’s a lot easier to publish books today than it was nearly 35 years ago.

First, there were few, if any, resources to publish your own book. Authors in 1991 pretty much had to submit manuscripts to publishing companies in the hope that editors would even read them, much less make the decision that your story is worth taking the plunge on. Stephen King’s first novel was rejected 30 times. J.K. Rowling also saw multiple rejection letters, including one that said she should find a day job.

Technology has changed over the decades, as well. Today, most schools give all their middle and high school students a laptop to use. With the internet seeping into every aspect of our lives, it’s easier to write a story and put it out there for public consumption.

Rewind back to 15-year-old me, where the computers were all housed in labs at the school with big, bulky monitors and hard drives the size of concrete slabs. I was writing my plays on notebook paper while riding the bus to and from school along with whatever time I had at home. I didn’t even get to use a laptop until my senior year of high school, and then it was borrowed during my spring break.

Let’s also not forget that I grew up in the country, and that meant caring for animals, so I didn’t have as much time for writing as I probably would have liked, and I don’t think my parents wouldn’t have been happy if I didn’t feed the animals because I was in the frenzy of creativity whilst writing a scene of adventure and danger.

Also, when I wasn’t at home, I was getting involved with more activities at school. I was in the FFA, performing in the school plays (including one that I wrote that was produced my junior year), becoming part of the student council and National Honor Society. I was emerging from being an awkward child into someone who wanted to make a difference in the world.

If I was 15 years old today, could I have achieved what this other teen accomplished, considering the advances in technology that make writing a lot faster than what it was in the 1990s? Possibly. Still, I’m happy where I am. It took a little longer for me to reach for my dreams, but we all become who we are in our own due time.

Creativity emerges on its own schedule. Some of it may be due to self-doubt. Some of it may be due to whatever societal and technological restrictions exist. When it does finally explode into a beautiful thing, it’s worth all the effort.