The Magic of the Unwritten

I was writing a story about my wife and some existential questions she was thinking about as another birthday approached.

The piece felt incomplete. Something was missing, but I couldn't figure out what. I kept coming up with ideas, but none of them felt right.

So I saved it and moved on.

That afternoon, we went to watch a Gingerbread House competition with my daughters. Then went to a friend’s house to build our own. Watching Justine helping the girls build their houses, laughing when the walls collapsed, patiently rebuilding—that was the ending.

The story revealed itself when I stopped forcing it.

You may think stories are always neatly packaged when you sit down to write them. Some are. But a lot of them aren’t.

If you want to write consistently, you need to be okay with pieces that aren't finished yet.

Save the incomplete ones. Work on something else. Let your brain keep processing in the background. Let your life keep working on it.

Trust that what you need will show up.

I keep a “folder” of unfinished pieces. Some sit there for weeks. Some for months. A few never get finished, and that's fine too. But the ones that do? They work because I waited.

If a story doesn't feel complete, don’t rush. Your brain is telling you it needs more time.

Give it permission to simmer.

Do you have a story you've been holding onto but haven't found the right words for yet?