Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Venting, Garbage, and Good Writing

Most good literature happens by unloading one's emotional baggage. True. I love to look into emotional baggage when its components are neatly folded and tucked, then put in a chic valise to make them seem so neat and fashionable. I don't, however, like it when smelly garbage is offered as emotional baggage, without enclosing it in a plastic thrash bag.

If we were to put our everyday garbage without putting it in a thrash can and without enclosing it in a thrash bag, no garbage collector would take away our garbage. Imagine each piece of garbage--torn packaging, broken things, diapers, used tissues, leftover spoiled food, fruit and vegetable peelings, dog doodoo--laid wide open on the curbside. Passers by could pass out from the stink if they can't hold their breath long enough.

On the plus side, it is good to express ourselves through dumping. It makes us feel better. Venting helps anybody. Shrinks and priests encourage people to do just that to clean up the elements of society. Venting is what some blogs, personal journals, and diaries are for.

On the other hand, there seems to flourish an idea that literature is personal garbage that reeks all over the place. It probably started with the encouragement of journaling, which has been taken the wrong way. Journaling is fine. I love doing it myself. One can find lots of good stuff--among all the garbage--in one's own personal journal to turn into good writing, but a personal diary or a journal entry that rambles on and on with expletives and says the same thing over and over again is not literature. It is venting.

The subject of this entry came to me when I received a review yesterday for "Invalid Item" . It was a very nice review, which I appreciated greatly, about the new everyday writing challenge group that is just forming. The rules are easy on the writer; only personal garbage dumping type of daily journaling is not allowed, just because I would like the writers of this site to practice serious writing (settings, beginnings and endings to their stories, poetry, non-fiction etc.).

The reviewer felt the daily writing I expected was lacking because of the ban on the daily personal garbage. Like I said before, there is nothing wrong with daily garbage dumping; moreover, it is needed. But most of time, it is not literature or even good writing. Also, we all do it to the nth degree already.

See, I can vent, too.