I often though it would be cool to work on a collaborative community “novel” … or at least a short story. I know it’s been done before, but I have never done it. Now is as good a time as ever.

I’m floating the idea here on my blog.

Simply put, I am inviting readers – and that includes Reveille/Between the Lakes readers as well – to contribute to an ongoing story. As long as there is interest, I’ll continue to advance the storyline.

I have no expectations about where the story will go. In fact, I don’t even have a storyboard or outline. I’m trusting in your imagination and direction. Will it end up being a mystery? A romance? A comedy? A drama? A slice of life? Inspiration?

We’ll decide together.

The plan is to get you started and have you submit continuing paragraph(s) each week. Together, we will flesh out the storyline, develop characters, possibly throw in some curves or red herrings. In the end I hope we will be able to come up with a readable piece we will all be proud to share with family and friends.

All you have to do is put down your thoughts and get them to me. You can post your ideas as comments on the blog – remember everyone will see them, so the “surprise” factor might get lost – or you can e-mail me directly at [email protected]. Each Wednesday I will continue the story on the blog, along with that week’s attribution. I’ll keep Reveille/Between the Lakes readers informed of our progress periodically, but invite you, too, to check out the blog.

To get you started, I’ll begin …

I was driving alone on the dark black asphalt, seemingly darker because of ominous clouds on the horizon ranging from steel gray to puffs of white. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of white as the sun tried to peek out from behind the clouds. It didn’t succeed, but first a ray rained into the picture, followed by a halo of rays.

My name is …

There you go, readers. My name is … and what is his or her story? Why was he/she on the road? Where was he/she going? What did the rays mean? How do they relate to the story?

I hope we can have some fun with this.

Remember, comment at wisdomfromafather.com or e-mail me at [email protected].

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: If a battle doesn’t stand between you and your God-given destiny, simply ignore it.