Just over a month ago, I shared pictures, here, of the mural
I've been working on at church. At that time, I mentioned that it was “mostly
done.” I can’t tell you how many times we left the church after hours of
painting saying, “One more day. It’ll be done tomorrow.” Then three days ago,
it was actually done. Like, for real. We cleaned up our paints, our brushes,
threw away roller naps, folded drop clothes and stowed ladders. But guess what
– the following day we were back again, adding a few more finishing touches,
because there’s always one more thing.
One of those afternoons while painting a bird perched over the
mirror in the children’s bathroom, my daughter commented, “Things keep getting
more and more complicated, but they keep getting more and more awesome too.”
It’s the same way with our stories, isn’t it? Sometimes
it feels like they’ll never be finished. I remember the first time I thought my
novel was done. That was probably a couple of years and a half dozen revisions
ago. But the same thing holds true, the more and more complicated it gets, the
more and more awesome it gets as well. And I do love revising. I find it exciting to see a work evolve into more than I ever expected at the outset.
How about you? Are you ever surprised by what your stories become throughout the process?
