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Keeping the Words You Write
In 8th grade, I had a fabulous English teacher. Every Monday, we would pull out a piece of notebook paper and just start writing. Our teacher didn't care what we wrote, so long as we filled both sides of the page. Then, every Friday, we were expected to turn in a second sheet of paper, also filled on both sides. He called it the "Dear Chronicles" assignment and he collected every single one and kept them.
At the very end of the year, the entire collection was handed back to us. As we busied ourselves putting them in order, he handed us each a large sheet of bright orange paper. We wrapped the bundle in the ugly orange paper, stapled it shut and wrote "Do not open until June 2003" on it. June 2003 was the month we would all graduate high school, 4 years later.
I kept that orange packet of papers for the four years. Sometimes it was on a bookshelf, other times it was in a desk drawer, while other times I found it tucked away in a box of everything else. I forgot about it, naturally, until 2 weeks after my high school graduation I dug it out of the box I had been cleaning. What a treat it was to finally peel away the paper surrounding it and read my writings, my thoughts, my stories from 4 years before, some of them were even from 5 years before.
The writing itself was poor. I wouldn't have rated any of them past 2 stars. Yet, those papers still sit safely tucked away in my "box of everything", preserved in a simple manila envelope. I don't keep them because they're great, I keep them because something like that is something you hold on to for as long as possible. So 10 years down the road, when I decide it's time to clean out that box again, I can pull out those silly stories and laugh at how far I've come.
As a writer, we are often warned never to throw anything away. I wish I had listened to that warning sooner. Truly, when I was fifteen years old and jotting down every story idea that came to mind, I thought nothing of tossing out the older stories that might tattle on me and tell people I hadn't always written as well as I do now. I finally did start holding on to things I had written, but by the time I had started, I had lost almost 3 years worth of writing.
Lucky for me, my English teacher had taken it upon herself to keep her hands on a short story I had written for an assignment. When she tracked me down to return it to me several months later, I was able to tuck it away and hold on to it. Any story my English teacher had deemed worth keeping herself, must be worth keeping in general. That short story, and a review I recieved, soon spurred the creation of a young adult novel. Our past writings can be a great source of inspiration for newer, better ideas.
Any experienced writer knows that you should keep the things you write, so you think we inexperienced writers would want to do the same. I encourage each of you to find a safe place to put your writings in, even the ones you hate when you finish. That way, years down the road, when you are short on inspiration you can look through them and either find the inspiration you are looking for. Or just have a good laugh. As writers, we need both. |
A Little Bit of Everything:
Read through the following advice articles. You don't have to agree with their advice. Maybe you've already heard it a dozen times, maybe it's something new to you, maybe you have something to add. If so, a review is sure to be welcomed. 
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For Authors: February 28, 2007 Issue [#1573]
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