Written by Karen D. Swim
Yesterday, I went digging through my writing file. Not the nicely polished, edited pieces file, nope. The file. The electronic brain dump with snippets of poorly written dialogue and half baked story ideas. Some were so awful that I blushed with embarrassment as I quickly closed the file. Others were like freshly turned planting soil, ready for seeds to take root with just the right amount of careful nurturing. A few were so good that I had to check to make sure I hadn’t swiped it from someone else.
I was tempted to share the “so bad, it’s funny” bits here but decided to spare you. Tripping the light fantastic through my own archives however was less painful than I imagined. It allowed me to step back in time and visit with my history. Buried in the fiction were nuggets of truth pulled from my life – Death of a Fairytale, Confessions of a Schitzophrenic Serial Optimist (sigh, my title struggle remains consistent) – all revealed a little bit of me layered with big fat swaths of imagination.
I love writing. A peek into my files validated what I have always known. The end result is not always lovely but the process is delicious. Even the really awful writing is fun to write and allows me to shake off the dross to get to the gold. I don’t spend much time looking back but on occasion it is good therapy. The look back can remind you why you keep moving forward, especially when new challenges are on the horizon. My dive into the archives was like flipping through my running journal. As I logged the miles I only thought of one step at a time, one run at a time. Somehow they added up over time.
I did not delete the bad or mediocre writing pieces. All had contributed to the total miles I have run thus far. The good, the bad and the truly awful after all have gotten me right here today.
If you’re in the mood for some great writing on this hump day, I highly recommend:
Ladders on the Right Wall – a straight from the heart, thought provoking piece by Janice Cartier. The post and comments are brilliant and provide such great insight into moving forward towards the “scary ” thing.
Turning Point – Brett Legree is back with a two hanky post that will tug your heart and stir your soul. While the post itself is filled with raw emotion, it also delves into our corporate work culture and why it is imploding around us.
And don’t miss Kelly’s book review and cool giveaway, plus a chance to give a shout out to a deserving business.
What’s in your archives? Any surprises?