As writers, we write a ton of stories that are now “stored” under our beds. Each figuratively wrapped lovingly in tissue paper and placed gently in a beautiful wooden box under our beds. A present to ourselves, when we dare look back.
Okay
- in reality, they are languishing in 3-ringed binders, if they were printed.
If not, they are buried on long-lost flash drives, in computer files on computers that
have been retired long ago, or on floppy disks (yikes, yes many are on floppies
covered in dust, buried in a package of some sort – if any of us can even
remember what floppies are and how they were used.)
But for me, those stories still resonate. I think about them and wonder how I can resurrect them. Unwrap them from an antiquated lace scarf buried deep in an old trunk in the recesses of my brain. Deep down, I know that since I started seriously writing romance in the early 2000s, that I have learned so much. And I will be disappointed to read what I once thought was…drum roll…brilliant.
So,
the question is, will my time be well spent if I go back, dig them out of the
long-forgotten package, and try to fix those stories. The basics, the elements
of the story, the setting, the characters…they are all part of me. It’s the
grammar, point of view fixes, and redundancy that needs to be fixed. Is it worth
it? Or will it take so much energy and time to pick the manuscript apart and
resurrect it, that I will grow to hate my old manuscripts and want to bury them
again in an old box or trunk or abandoned file cabinet? Or will I actually want
to burn them and watch the remnants of my dreams drift skyward?
But I
do love the idea of a treasure hunt. And resurrecting the excitement I
experienced when writing those early manuscripts. Why do you think those
nuggets are still languishing “under my bed?” Who can bear to throw away what might
be a treasure to someone? My gift to the world. And certainly, a gift to
myself, if only for the pleasure I felt as I wrote the story that tumbled from
my brain straight to my fingers and on to the page—no matter the massive
writing mistakes.
Alas,
there are so many more stories waiting to get out. And time is running out. So
maybe I’ll leave those first stories buried in a neat package for my children,
grandchildren, and friends to discover. And…I am sure I’ll hear them singing
their praises about how utterly brilliant I was.
One
can only dream…
Celebrating romance!
Reading romance on vacation!
Running to your nearest
Indie Book Store and scouring
the shelves for a good romance.
THE LOVE LEFT BEHIND
Fall weddings
Get a head start on holiday Reading
Release Date: October 17, 2022, PREORDER NOW
cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires
burning ~
Delsora
Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from
the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.
Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind. Look for both a Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) later this fall.
Photo Credits:
Present
Floppy Disk
Trunk
Clock
Editing
12 comments:
Nah, your children, grandchildren and friends will be reaping the benefits of "long lost manuscripts" by Delsora Lowe. What does that mean? Foreign rights, movie and television deals, posthumously published. You've got this!
Great blog post, Delsora! It is hard deciding what to do with those old stories. I have a few of my own. I can't throw them away, but I neglect to do anything with them.
Judith, I am listening to ML Buchman on putting together a spread sheet with all my manuscripts - for just that reason. Only someone will have to do a lot of revising to make them worth anything :-)
Diana - I may go back to some of them someday - but they will need total rewrites.
Cute post, Delsora! Ah, yes, the old chestnuts. Do they haunt us like stillborn children, or do they still have the potential to be brought to life? Are they worth the time? Good questions. I have to admit mine aren't even on floppy disks, but in old spiral notebooks. Egad, so low tech!! But I'm excited to see your Christmas book is up for pre-order now!
Gail - yes, hard to forget those old stories. But not sure I have the energy or time to resurrect. Maybe one or two, but eh rest will settle peacefully under the bed. And...yes, very excited about new book. Glad you could stop by to say hello.
Loved the post! I know the feeling well, having recently dug through files of story starts and wretched poetry from my college days (the 1970s) and beyond.
I say go for it. If they still live in your mind, there may be something that you can bring alive again on the page, filtered through your subsequent years of wisdom and writing knowledge. And it's not a behemoth "they." It can feel overwhelming (and easier to dismiss) if it's an all/nothing concept. Much easier to choose the one you remember most fondly or the one with the most dramatic pull - whatever - to start with one and see how it goes.
Even if you don't end up revivifying the old books, you might discover pieces you can rework into one of your planned new books.
When I went through my old stuff, I was surprised at how it brought alive my young self/writer-self. I left several writer-selves behind over the decades as life intervened. Going through all those writings felt like an integration of those scattered writer-selves, if that makes any sense, lol.
Here's wishing you happy and fortuitous discoveries!
Janet Jones Bann
Great blog, Delsora! It always saddens me to hear from other writers that they have manuscripts under the bed because they were "rejected" by a New York house, or a previously published work has gone out of print, but it's another thing when you've simply lost interest in the story. I find I must tell myself I'll find the time and interest and get back to those stories at some point - I can't bare it any other way!
Janet - there are definitely a few that call to me on occasion. Now if I could just stop the new ideas from popping up, I might have time. And...you are right. I should at least go back and reread some of them.
Jessica - I know - it seems so sad that one or two rejections can derail a writer. And I have to believe I will someday go back and fix these books. I have a spread sheet that goes back to the early 2000s. I'll admit, after rejection, I just kept resubmitting to others. But now I know, upon rejection, rewrite and edit before trying again. BUT - don't give up! That is what happened with my new release coming out in Oct. That darn thing was fully rewritten about 5 times and then edited ad nauseum after that. Tedious. Hair-pulling. Excruciating. But I hope a better book for all the stress.
I love this article. I still mourn the loss of a particular short story I wrote many years ago which was lost when our computer crashed.
What a fun post!! Several years ago, I resurrected my first manuscript. With much updating -- there were pay phones in the thing -- and waaay too much descriptions of furniture and clothing, I was able to publish it. You're right. It was a lot of fun to re-read that early manuscript and remember the joy I had in writing it.
I love this post! Especially how you describe the old story nuggets lovingly wrapped in tissue paper and stored away. I've got several of them hiding away. But unlike you, I'm pretty sure they're well beyond a good editing. Though I do love those characters and how they found each other. :D
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