Sunday, March 3, 2019

When Trash Becomes Treasure

Don't throw out your trash! Your word trash, that is. So often as writers, we write whole paragraphs, even pages, and simply discard them because we think nothing good will come out of the draft we have written. We delete it an turn it into rubble. But we're wrong to do this. There is plenty of good waiting to come forth from trashed drafts. Save the rubble in what I call the "rubble writing file." A file I often pull from when writing gets tough.

I began making a rubble file because I became sick of rewriting deleted scenes that I found useful later on in a book. I have rewritten deleted scenes so many times that my wrists hurt. Finally, I got smart and started saving the discarded ideas. Those ideas have become my treasures.


Unlike bagged lettuce and grudges, old stories and scenes can and do get better with time. I've been asked by fellow writers what to do with work that feels like typed dribble. I say; press save! I know your work might read poorly, too many cliches and adverbs might be taking over the page.  Press save and step away. Work on something else.  Make dinner, watch a show, help the kids with their homework. Come back, and take another look at your work. Often, the scene that wasn't gelling, comes together in a carpool run. When your eyes are rested, I think you'll find the work is far from trash.  Maybe the work won't be right for your story or that particular scene.  Place it in the rubble file. You never know when it will be needed.

Writing is exercise.  All exercise is good for the body and all writing is good for a writer. Somedays you will feel like your characters are running away and taking the plot with them. What your characters are doing is writing a story you haven't conceived of yet. Save the work, it might be the beginning of your next book.

Never, I repeat, never, is writing ever trash. If nothing else it is a journey we have to take with our characters; a journey our story had to travel to know the path needed to bend another way. I no longer look at drafts as dribble but as clay to be prodded and sculpted and moved to the desired location. My advice, save your writing "trash." It just might become your treasure.

2 comments:

  1. I’m not a writer and don’t remember thinking about the profession much. But when you write about it, it really is quite inspiring and fascinating inside look.

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  2. Thank you Mrs. T. I hope you will be inspired to bring your passion to life.

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