Before I was inspired to work on these projects, I figured that writing a story would be like constructing a building – you decide what you want to make, gather the necessary materials, and put them together according to the plan.  But most of the time I don’t actually feel like I’m “inventing” or “creating” anything – it feels like the story is already there and it’s my job simply to uncover it.

The whole process has felt more like archaeology.  You stumble upon an intriguing fragment, something that looks like it belongs to a larger whole.  You’re faced with a choice… You could save yourself some time and effort and cast the piece aside as “probably nothing”.  Or maybe your desire for discovery would be enough to compel you to dig deeper, sacrificing time and resources along the way.  That single fragment could, in fact, be nothing, and you may find that you’ve spent countless hours looking for something that was never there.  Or it could be the gateway to further discoveries, ones that will enrich the culture and help people better understand the world we live in.  But you’ll never know for sure until you start digging.

Two stories that started out as simple ideas in a notepad have already far surpassed what I thought they could be.  Yet the work remains unfinished and the dream remains unrealized.  There’s still a big risk moving forward since I can’t see the full picture yet.  But I’ve uncovered enough to convince me that I need to keep digging, even on the days where I’m exhausted and don’t want to accept the humility of being on my hands and knees in the dirt.

This month, I encourage you to take a second look as those “fragments” in your own life that have been cast aside – those ideas that would “never work”, the undertakings that would take “too much time”, or the positions that you would “not be good enough” for.  Start digging, giving some dedicated time and attention to explore what lies around one of those fragments.  You might find that there’s more there than you initially thought.  I wish you the best in your quest!