Mid-November and the cold finally took my patio pots of geraniums. Bought last April, they’ve bloomed consistently since. Another wonderful treat has been the pink autumn daisies I planted near the house years ago. (I think they’re chrysanthemums. Although I can’t remember the exact name, they were displayed with other daisies at the nursery.) They don’t bloom until October, which is wonderful in its self, (nothing else is blooming) but they are wonderful cut flowers, lasting over two weeks in a vase. I’ve had fresh flowers until yesterday when I finally tossed them.
It snowed Saturday and turned bitter cold. Winter pushed aside Fall over the last few days and I’ll have a bit more time for my writing. I’m looking forward to that. My sister got me thinking. From a subject completely off writing, too. That’s the way, isn’t it?
She’s been talking recycling. She has two special-needs boys ready to work on their Eagle Scout. They’ve thought recycling. They’re brainstorming ideas. After all, the projects, avenues and needs are endless.
I’ve been recycling since it was popular once before, when my kids were small. It was a time of gas shortages, sky-high beef prices (we had beef boycotts and meatless meals) and lost jobs. Gosh, all lightening, it sounds familiar.
In any case, it got me thinking and in more than one direction. In the direction of writing, I thought it sounded like a good idea to look back over my previous work and recycle, repurpose, rewrite, resubmit.
Every writer has tons of ideas. Usually the ideas aren’t the problem. It’s the execution, or the slant or sometimes even the wrong publication. I’ve been rereading my rejected or almost finished work. So much was just dropped, forgotten, abandoned when I got sick. And truthfully, I haven’t had the energy or desire to revisit any of it until now. Mostly I haven’t even wanted to think about my previous work. It seemed too big a leap, too much to deal with.
Now, I’m excited by my old work. I’ve been working on a short story I started years ago, editing, rewriting, cutting words. I’ve been making a priority list of my previous work and of places to submit. I feel hopeful and excited. That’s a very good feeling.
And the idea of recycling abandoned or rejected pieces a great way to recharge and get back into the habit of submitting. I challenge you writers to recycle just one piece and see if you can’t improve it. Then, send it out into the world. What do you have to lose?
It snowed Saturday and turned bitter cold. Winter pushed aside Fall over the last few days and I’ll have a bit more time for my writing. I’m looking forward to that. My sister got me thinking. From a subject completely off writing, too. That’s the way, isn’t it?
She’s been talking recycling. She has two special-needs boys ready to work on their Eagle Scout. They’ve thought recycling. They’re brainstorming ideas. After all, the projects, avenues and needs are endless.
I’ve been recycling since it was popular once before, when my kids were small. It was a time of gas shortages, sky-high beef prices (we had beef boycotts and meatless meals) and lost jobs. Gosh, all lightening, it sounds familiar.
In any case, it got me thinking and in more than one direction. In the direction of writing, I thought it sounded like a good idea to look back over my previous work and recycle, repurpose, rewrite, resubmit.
Every writer has tons of ideas. Usually the ideas aren’t the problem. It’s the execution, or the slant or sometimes even the wrong publication. I’ve been rereading my rejected or almost finished work. So much was just dropped, forgotten, abandoned when I got sick. And truthfully, I haven’t had the energy or desire to revisit any of it until now. Mostly I haven’t even wanted to think about my previous work. It seemed too big a leap, too much to deal with.
Now, I’m excited by my old work. I’ve been working on a short story I started years ago, editing, rewriting, cutting words. I’ve been making a priority list of my previous work and of places to submit. I feel hopeful and excited. That’s a very good feeling.
And the idea of recycling abandoned or rejected pieces a great way to recharge and get back into the habit of submitting. I challenge you writers to recycle just one piece and see if you can’t improve it. Then, send it out into the world. What do you have to lose?
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