What I Discovered Posing as an Archaeologist

We all have one of those boxes--that one stuffed full of papers and knickknacks you always meant to go through but never did, and if it's not still gathering dust in your parents' basement it's buried under a heap of other boxes in your closet. You know--that box. Please tell me you have one. I have like seven of them.

Last weekend I felt like actually being responsible and going through my boxes to make the house a little extra tidy. Of course with a toddler a tidy house is only an illusion, but making the effort helps me feel better about myself.

Image source: 105.1 The Blaze

I understand the field of archaeology so much better after digging through my junk. In every box so far I've found some artifacts worth keeping, but I've sifted through a lot of useless stuff I'm astonished made it this long without getting thrown away. Maybe at one point I thought it'd be a good idea to hold on to that creepy note I wrote to a classmate in third grade, or that eleventh-grade math assignment I never finished. I mean, yeah, it was pretty cool encountering forgotten relics of my past. But it's like if some ancient Greek dropped their cereal bowl and left it there. Whoever dug that up probably just thought it was worth something because it was so old.

I'm still waiting for my return on investment here.
Image source: fotosearch.com

I have uncovered some real treasures, though. One box I went through had a whole stack of notebooks I'd written stories in, most of which I had completely forgotten about. That's a gold mine of ideas, right there! One story involved a protagonist who resembled my fifteen-year-old self blowing up a dam.

Maybe I won't use that one.

The gem of the collection was an old outline for a novel--the very first outline I ever attempted. It's actually for an early version of the novel I'm working on now, which makes it extra interesting. This same story has taken a new form almost every year since its first inception when I was eleven, so I only vaguely remember what this particular outline is talking about (and I obviously didn't get very far before I gave up on planning and just "pantsed" my way through the rest of the story). But it's still special because it's a first for me. Based on the handwriting, plot points, and character names, I'd date this piece to 2004 or 2005.

The current version contains no midnight bloodbaths... but also no time machine. Waah.

I know these names and details mean nothing to you yet. All but one of them have been scrapped, anyway. Maybe someday when my book's been published and a devoted fan base eagerly awaits its Hollywood premiere, or something, I'll share this outline again and talk a little more about the story's evolution.

But this is the takeaway for now:

Sometimes, nothing pushes you forward better than a reminder of where you've been.