Picture this:
A frustrated writer stares at the blank piece of paper taunting him from his typewriter. He furiously types a few lines, slamming the return bar in his rush to finish his thoughts. Sated, he peers at the page in front of him and re-reads his work. He frowns. Then he rips the page from the machine, crumples it up, and tosses it toward an overflowing wastepaper basket.
Can you picture it? A tortured soul with writer's block. So cliche.
Isn't it???
I thought about taking a picture of an overflowing wastepaper basket to put with this blog post, but I don't have one. I've never had one. I do have a picture of empty dumpsters, and actually found that more fitting because I don't believe I have ever thrown away my work. I can't even imagine it. I can relate to writer's block, and dissatisfaction with the words I've put on paper, but I can never bring myself to throw my writing away.
Is it just me?
I will cross things out. I will scribble notes, draw arrows, and even write questions to myself in the margins of my pages. Then I file those papers, save those document files, or tuck away those notebooks. I've got filing cabinets and computer folders full of bad writing. I probably could fill a dumpster. Except that I'm a hoarder. I can't let go of those scraps of paper. I always think that there must be something in there. I must have been trying to say something, and maybe someday I'll want to come back to it and revise it/fix it/flesh it out.
I can't help but wonder if the image of the writer with discarded balls of paper all over his desk and office is just a myth. My wastepaper basket is empty. Is yours?
I understand both views (tossing and not). I don't physically toss anything, but I have files that I call "banks" where I paste the bits and pieces I cut out of my stories. It seems wiser and kinder to save them there, somehow. That said, I've never actually gone back and used any of it, lol.
ReplyDeleteI save all those tidbits, too. Sometimes I leaf through the paper scraps, or open old computer files and am amazed at what crap I've written. But then I dutifully re-file them. Who knows why. My trashcan remains empty.
ReplyDeleteI have a pathological need to throw old stuff away. So I haven't saved a lot of my old work. Recently I've started to regret that, and I've begun to save all my drafts.
ReplyDeleteI am completely opposite (and wishing I wasn't). I burn, rip, toss, sink anything that no longer has a use. I always regret it, but some monster inside me compels me to DESTROY. I have kept anything that is complete...or one day will be. Your keeping everything is fascinating!
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting how different we all are. Stephanie and Sarah - I almost felt panicked when I read that you throw stuff away. Seriously. I stopped breathing for a minute.
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