Our research may not emerge in the tidy, linear manner often described in research papers, and hoped for outcomes may never eventuate. Amid this seeming confusion, researchers may experience personal discomfort and perceptions of failure. Drawing on my experiences as a doctoral candidate I address two of the areas for which my own reading of literature left me ill-prepared. I focus first on the emergent nature of action research, and second on the contributions reflection can make to our development as action researchers. Students and teachers of action research are encouraged to appreciate the richness and variety of experiences which interaction and engagement in the research process may bring, for it is these activities which shape our development as researchers.