All daring starts from within.
-Eudora Welty
Dear Writers,
Over the last two weeks, my son has been packing his things and moving to a new apartment. As he packed, I thought about how much his process was like my revision process! (Yes, I think my super power is turning ANYTHING into a writing lesson.)
First, he put everything he had in the boxes.
Note: my son is a reader. And a history buff. And a collector. So there were a lot of books. He thought he was done with the hard work.
But of course, packing the boxes (or writing the draft) is just the beginning.
Early on, it became clear that there were too many boxes. We urged him to put some aside–for giveaway. But mostly, he still held on tight. “What if I need this book?” he asked more than a few times.
(Are you nodding your head? How many times have you tried to revise your story without giving anything away? How many hours have you spent writing around some darlings–so you could keep them?)
Then the truck came. They took everything to the new apartment. We were lucky to find two gigantic used bookcases.
But they were not enough.
So, as he unpacked, he began to make a few more giveaway boxes. In other words: he tapped into what he wanted. And he made space for new things. He looked at his things with new eyes–it was easier to do that in a new setting.
Instead of holding on tight, he kept what he needed.
Also, in one of the boxes, a surprise:
(I love surprises. It was fun thinking back to when he first played with Pokemon.)
At the end of the day, along with some of these figures (he gave the bulk to some family friends), he displayed his prized collection of campaign buttons, some dinosaurs, a bowling pin from his bar mitzvah, his first teddy bear, a Darth Vader mask, and a wooden rhinoceros. His books, now in full view, tell a story of a young man interested in how the world works and leaders with big ideas–and of course, flaws. Most important: by giving some things away, he figured out what I learn every single time I write a draft and begin to revise. The surprises are waiting. The glimmers are there. The subconscious was speaking authentically from the beginning.
There is still more work to do.
Are you ready to reach? Stretch? Groan? Embrace the power of play?
Pressing DELETE is not easy for most people. But when you do, you make room for your glimmers!
Eudora Welty is right. The daring starts from within.
Take a chapter you are working on. Find the line (or even the word) that YOU find most essential, the glimmer in your writing, the line that speaks most clearly to your intent for the chapter.
Now put it on the top of a blank page. And reimagine that chapter. Do not peek at your old work. See what you discover when you have emptied out those boxes and you’re left with what is most important to you. See what you discover when you are not trying to keep everything you have written. Give yourself some SPACE. Some room to explore.
Dare yourself to reimagine that scene and see it in a new way.
