@Zack Bush I might be better if I skip the pencil bit and say, “Tools in a toolbox learn they are happiest when they do the work they were made for.” There’s a line from a Dave Matthews song that has become my mantra: “Don’t waste time trying to be something you’re not.” I spent 23 years in the Air Force hating every moment of it, but I didn’t know I was allowed, or at least didn’t allow myself to become the writer I really am. That’s the point of the story. Yes, a screwdriver can hammer in a nail, but it will break. A saw can turn a screw, but it will break. A hammer can cut wood but the wood will be useless.

@Zack Bush if I’m going to frame it this way, it might be helpful to have two screwdrivers from the same tool kit - brand new and excited. One spends his life screwing things in - Philips head screws that are just the right size. The other screwdriver spends his life opening paint cans, banging on nails, scraping paint. One day they meet and the difference is obvious. The well-used screwdriver is nearly pristine and very proud of the work he’s done. The misused screwdriver is beat up and broken, but he also has fascinating stories. The well-used one has no idea what it’s like to scrape paint, or poke a hole in drywall, or be used to toast a marshmallow, but the misused one can tell him all about it.

I know this is a serious post...but I got a visual of that movie with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller - she was working on being a children's author and her book was about why children shouldn't play with explosives. It was a very Ben Stiller moment. Anyway... I'd like to push back on this question a bit. In my view, as authors, we can get too precious about what our story is about. But the truth is that each reader takes away their own lesson because they read it through unique eyes. Like, Horton Hears A Who. What's that really about? Most folks will say, "A person is a person, no matter how small." And that's true on one level. But the story also shows that we can each be a tipping point and change society if we're willing to stand up and speak the truth even if we don't think we'll make a difference. Or, There's No Such Thing As Dragons. On the surface, it's about how parents don't always listen to their children. But it's also about how things can get out of control if we suppress our shadow. And the meaning of stories can change over time. When I was a child and read, Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No-good, Very Bad Day, I felt bad for him because I'd had days like that. But now, as a parent, I identify with the parents who have a child who's grumpy and can't be comforted. I think a story can just be a story and we can leave it up to the reader to decide what it's about. I'm cautious about putting too much worry into what a story is about because can slow me down from actually writing it.

@Zack Bush it's definitely good to have a north star.

I think a child might need my books after a family pet dies, or if major changes come in their lives.