The Golden Dumpster
By Therese Walsh | October 16, 2007 |
I don’t know what it is about excising a scene, but it’s a scary process–at least for me. Here’s how it goes: Take scene I was previously happy with, rethink it to a bold degree, then expunge so that new scene contains about 10% of old material. Breathe. Breathe some more.
I don’t know why, I always worry these new scenes are too clinical, that they don’t have enough voice, flair, that they aren’t painted properly.
Smart writers save their old scenes, because it’s always possible the new ones won’t work and/or the old ones really are better. Generally my old scenes don’t make it back into the wip, but that doesn’t mean I delete them. Nay! My grandmother was a pack rat, and I’ve inherited the gene, at least when it comes to my writing. I think just about everything I’ve ever written–fiction and non–is in my computer’s thankfully vast memory somewhere.
The Dead Files are interesting to peruse every once in a while, because sometimes among the scatter of refuse I find a gem. One paragraph or description or sentence that’s just killer good. These rediscovered words are then transported to a new home: the Golden Dumpster.
The Golden Dumpster is my favorite playground of outmoded finds, the writerly equivalent of Grandma’s closet, or her cupboards, or that cool cedar chest filled with…stuff. I think part of me really believes I might one day be writing a scene and think, “I have the perfect sentence for this!” I’d reach into my Golden Dumpster (wearing protective gloves, of course) and pull out several choice words. They’ll offer up exactly what I need and become the centerpiece for my new scene. I’ll feel vindicated.
This is pure fantasy, I know, but I do think there’s a purpose to maintaining a Golden Dumpster. Five, even.
Top Five Golden Dumpster Benefits:
5. It’s a great place to visit when you’re feeling low. Yes you can write beautiful goodness. See exhibits 1-214 in the GD. Told you so.
4. You might find fodder for a new story…or a new character. When you’ve been away from your work for a good long while, it’s easier to spy quality: a strong thread of plot possibility or a character worth getting to know a little better. One of my previous heroes (since axed) has a keener sense of humor than I remembered. I’ll resurrect him at some point.
Jay reached across the table, grabbed Noel by the lapels of his jacket and shook him, his eyes wild.
“Good god, man, you didn’t sleep with her?”
More than a few heads turned in their direction before Jay sat back down, smoothing over his shirt with his hands.
“Sorry about that. I’m just not myself before my second cup of coffee.”
Maybe it’s just me, but Jay makes me laugh. (Actually, that’s another thing that runs in our family: thinking we’re funny. Ha.)
3. You’ll find something you can’t use “as is” but that you can modify. Reading something in the GD may inspire a quick revise and actual usage. This has happened to me, and often the revise is better than–at least as good as–the original. Liberation for GD phrases! Yay!
2. You can assess your progress over time. What you’ll deem worthy of GD placement now likely won’t be what you deem worthy of GD placement in five years. And that kind of writerly growth is kind of cool to recognize in yourself.
1. It gives you something to blog about!
How about you? Keep a Golden Dumpster? Want to share a story about it or an outtake?
Write on, all!
Therese Walsh (she/her) co-founded Writer Unboxed in 2006 and is the site’s editorial director. She was the editor of WU’s only book, Author in Progress, and runs the Writer Unboxed UnConference.
Her second novel, The Moon Sisters, received starred reviews and was named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal and Book Riot.
Learn more about Therese on her website, and sign up for her newsletter to be among the first to hear about any new projects.
I “dump” all my drafts together with the final draft on top in clear folders…I’m sorry, trees, but I have a raging paranoia about my computer falling into an abyss and never seeing my pretty words again.
I tend to be short and not-so-sweet in my original draft, while the finished draft is longer and (I sincerely hope) polished. But occasionally, I go back to that original draft, work it a little bit, and submit the piece as flash fiction (as the Good Lord obviously intended it to be).
I’ve never kept scenes I’ve ditched; I know, I’m weird. Only one time did I regret it–actually, it was a howling, scalp-gouging episode of writerly regret.
So now I have a Golden cyber-Dumpster, and one week into my new project, I’ve managed to fill it with three abortive efforts. I’m not sure I need a dumpster so much as a landfill.
i keep it all. most of it is NOT goodness, but the character resurrection could pay off. see, i think jay is funny, too!
I like the idea of a Golden Dumpster. Can’t say that I have one (yet), as usually when I throw something out it’s an entire setup of a scene that, due to a change in plot or the way something is done, is no longer relevant to anything whatsoever.
I keep previous versions of everything, though I don’t have them collected all in one place.
That said, the idea of Recycle Bin in the true sense of the word is interesting. Writer’s Rejects!
I can’t throw any of my writing away, either, and it is amazing to go back and re-read stuff from years ago. What I thought was complete crap then may have a bit of life in it!
But occasionally, I go back to that original draft, work it a little bit, and submit the piece as flash fiction (as the Good Lord obviously intended it to be).
LOL, Cath! You know, I like to keep my files in various forms too. Some hard copy, a file of my wip sent to my hubby’s email, a zip file I carry on my key chain. Paranoid, ya! But better paranoid than the victim of fire or whatever.
Welcome to Dumpsterhood, Eric! ;)
Melissa, I’m with you. There are things I cringe at about old-old work, but then I still can see the original soul of it a lot of times, too.
I’ve just started doing this, via Google Docs — it relieves so much anxiety, knowing that if that bit really is brilliant, it’ll still exist somewhere, so I can gleefully hack away at it now. I don’t generally compose in Google Docs — I just paste my drafts in as I go along. It keeps track of all your revisions, so you’ve always got the previous versions of your work, without having to save absolutely everything on your own harddrive (and then remember to back it up — which reminds me, I should back some things up…). Of course, as I’m typing this, Google Docs is telling me it’s having a server spasm, and I can’t get to any of my documents. :P
ChiaLynn, thanks for blogging about Google Docs! I’ll have to check this out when I have time. And then I’ll blog about it, of course. ;)