…so that’s why I am doing both at once…

It’s been really hard to make myself stop cleaning (see Here’s the Clean for more on those adventures) and write these blog posts–as you may have noticed. But they really are a lot alike.

When you are editing, you do a lot of pruning. A word here, a word there–a rearranging of sentences–a removal of a scene that isn’t working.

When you are sorting through boxes, you do a lot of the same. Is this memory worth saving that piece of paper? Do you remember who is in that picture? Is that snippet of writing something that can be expanded into a short story or novel or something else?

I have actually found a lot of bits of writing that I am very excited to rediscover. I have been working on a novel for over twenty-five years. I just can’t seem to get it right. One of the things I found in a box was the first full draft of that novel. I can’t wait to re-read it and see what my original plan was for the story. I think it might help me to get the train back on the track…

I also found a long Ladyhawke fan fiction story I thought was lost to the ether. That story was one of the things that taught me how to write description, and was one of the longest pieces before I actually finished a novel. It was one of the things that gave me the self-confidence to write novel length in the first place. (And I think it is one of my strongest bits of writing ever…that almost no one has ever seen. And I might be able to remedy that now.)

I’ve got a lot more boxes to unpack. I can’t wait to see what else I find–between bouts of editing the next Horrified anthology I am working on. And getting ready for November. 😉