That Giant Wastebasket in the Sky
Monday, March 8, 2010 at 12:25PM Last week I came across an intriguing piece of advice for writers: "Never throw anything out." "Uh oh," I thought, "I'm in trouble." I've been ripping, tearing, shredding, burning, crossing out, and tossing things in the trash for as long as I can remember. My first memory of getting rid of writing comes at age seventeen. I had just broken up with my boyfriend. With a hurt look on his face, he handed me back a packet of letters I had written him. I didn't bother to read them over, but headed straight out to the burning barrel in our backyard.
Later in life, I was to toss not only love letters from unhappy relationships, but also ordinary letters, diaries, journals, first drafts of stories, second drafts, third drafts (you get the idea), etc. etc. I began to joke about "that giant wastebasket in the sky" which contained all the material I had thrown out in my life. I never saw the point of saving multiple drafts of any book. Once the final book was published, I destroyed all the earlier versions. Of course, there were things I saved, as well. I still have a few of my earliest writings, such as "The Cowboy Coloring Book" that I wrote and illustrated at age 6 for my brother. I have dream diaries, a few travel journals, my son and daughter's stories, and every single letter that kids have written me about my books. I've never thrown out any poem I've written, either.
Have I ever regretted anything I destroyed? Of course, I have. Now I wish I had those letters written by my seventeen year old self. I wish I had my early journals. It never occurred to me as I was burning, tearing, or shredding, that someday I might be curious about my younger self. However, I've never regretted getting rid of manuscript drafts or unsuccessful stories. Getting rid of old things often frees me up for what's ahead. I don't want to hang onto every little scrap of writing as if it's my most precious treasure. Even if I lose a few good ideas along the way, it's okay. What's on paper is finite, but what's inside the brain is infinite...
Anne | 26 Comments | tagged archives, notetaking, saving material, writer's tips | Share Article | Email Article
Reader Comments (26)
I agree . . . out with the old, in with the new. But still . . . I would love to be able to rummaage through your wastebasket in the sky. I bet there's all kinds of great stuff in there!
I Agree Mrs.Potter:) I Actually Shreded My Journal,I Found That I Had To Force Myself To Write In It And Wrote About Things No One Would Care About. Maybe One Day I Will Regret It But As For Now Im Fine,But Anyway I Would Love To Visit Your WasteBasket:)
I tlly agree!
Anne, are you magical or something? You totally read my mind! I sometimes regret things that I throw out. Have you ever got the feeling that you know the right thing to do after doing something wrong?
"Holly, do ya see what I see??" Peter yelled at his wife Holly while pointing at the sky. " I think so. The only thin I'm seein are clouds and a waist basket up there " Holly said. " Man, do we ever need to get our eyes checked. Honey, pass me the Eye doctor paper would ya?" Petter said rubbing hes eyes. "Didn't you throw them away after milking the cow?' Holy Replied." Oh ya...........DANG IT!!!" you know who said.
This is the story you reminded me about Anne! My Aunt Farhana told me a year ago....I think. I don't really remember it that much but this is how much I remember. Peter is regreting if you didn't notice. Poor guy , maybe he should have hanged on to them more longer............ Bye!!!!
I've always had trouble throwing away letters, postcards, and drafts. Maybe I'll think of it as a giant file cabinet in the sky. It seems I love words too much to throw them away. I need to do something, though. I'm running out of room on my desktop. ; )
The only things that I've really regretted throwing out were old letters or cards from my sisters/or old friends...things that were given to me, rather than some of my blather on the page! I always save my poems too. I do keep my journals, but have recently purged the stockpiles of unwanted chapters and extra printed versions of my writing that I've shared with my group. It feels so good to sit down in that space now. My mind is free! Great post, Anne. So good to know I'm not alone!
Whew, I am so glad to know there is a great wastebasket in the sky!
Lol Same Here Leslie:)
Ha ha, love the thought of people rummaging through the giant wastebasket in the sky. If you empty it out, does that make... snow?
Laura, you're obviously more organized than I am if you have a celestial filing cabinet... :-)
Gael, I'm glad to know I'm not alone, either!
LOL to Faria.
Natalie, Abby Fan, Aishah & Faria - you all light up my day.
Leslie and Ellen - :-) or should i say :-D
I recall the day I burned all my hand written journals. I haven't regretted it much since then.
Part of me wants to document my life but I hate having to wade through the "noise" and junk to get to the stuff worth remembering. I have even considered writing two journals-- one that is brief and documents important stuff, and the other is blather that I write just for the process of writing and then can throw away.
I guess that would be the difference between a diary and a journal?
Nice post-- thought provoking!
yer Twitter pal Andrea
Thanks! :D :P
I like this post a lot Anne!!
Thank you, Hailey! :-) That means a lot to me.
you'r welcome anne!!! :^)
Your Really Nice Hailey. And So Is Everyone Else On This Site Too!
I luv everybody in this site! U GUYS ROCK! It's almost 11:00 p.m. over here in Texas. I gotta get some beauty sleep, PEACE OUT YALL!
V luv u 2, Nathalie!!! :)
THNX!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iNzrwh2z2hQ