Never Delete Your Old Writing

Discussion in 'Revision and Editing' started by Boriol, Jul 29, 2011.

  1. Boriol

    Boriol New Member

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    My oldest writing (~ 5 years ago) is password-protected in a format I no longer have the program for (.wpd). Every time Corel releases a new version of WordPerfect, I download the trial and look at my old stuff. When my trial runs out, I don't re-save anything except the stuff I genuinely need to use for reference. I also write new text in a different color on old stories, so I can see where my skills were at each time I get a new version of WP.

    Yes, I do sometimes read old stuff and get back into my younger mindset, but it never lasts for more than an hour. It's the same thing as after I watch a movie or play a game. After seeing the first Transformers, I saw all my TNR text in the Transformers font and I wrote about nothing but huge, high-tech battles in the middle of a city. And that's not even getting into the period after I played Portal.
     
  2. Ixtli™

    Ixtli™ New Member

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    My opinion on deleting old writing is about half and half. What I mean is you can delete it later, but save it for the time being. Because you can go back to those old writings and see what you did and why it was wrong or what you did wrong as far as plot or grammar or dialogue etc etc. And if anything it lets you look back and go "what was I thinking, that doesn't sound right at all" and make it better in the current version of the story.
     
  3. Radrook

    Radrook Banned Contributor

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    I agree 100%


    Some might try to do it a page at a time over a long period. Or if the person notices that we rarely review that old stuff then it becomes fair game to destroy piece meal over a long period of time. On other occasions it's just blatant ripping it to sheds followed by a sadistic smile. Especially if the item had strong sentimental value such as a photo, a diploma, or a diary, poem or novel manuscript. The point is to do damage and vent emotional steam and evening the score whatever the person imagines that score to be. Sometimes its simply annoyance at seeing the other person feeling proud of an accomplishment.

    The point is that manuscripts don't sprout wings or legs and wander from where they are placed unless someone moves them. So explanations involving total ignorance aren't acceptable as far as I'm concerned. You are absolutely right. Such a person has no legitimate right to be in one's life and the sooner he or she deleted via divorce or separation the better.

    About backup, just make sure she or he doesn't know where the backup is located. Otherwise that too might mysteriously sprout wings.

    BTW
    A poet relative of mine lost a whole irreplaceable notebook of poems and short stories that way. In fact, the fellow tore it up and burned it right in front of her. I lost a whole novel and a partially finished one, about one hundred poems, a taped family session, a Kung fu diary involving seven months of meticulous notes, and several photos of sentimental value in that way as well. One of which was torn up in my presence. So when such persons are on the move nothing is sacred.
     
  4. Robert.M

    Robert.M Member

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    As of now I am looking at some of my earlier stories. I am trying to see if there is any hope for salvage. Hopefully I could use some old plots, characters and dialogue for a new story that I am working on or just try to finish what I started.
     
  5. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    If anyone ever were to destroy/hide my writing, prevent me from writing, control how much I write, etc I'd be telling him to go ahead and let the door hit his (or her) ass on the way out. That type of action--or any other controlling behavior--would not be tolerated from me. Not once.
     
  6. VM80

    VM80 Contributor Contributor

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    Yes. Who needs someone like that in their life?
     
  7. Caro13

    Caro13 New Member

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    I still have the handwritten first draft of my first novel, from 1999. It then went through a number of subsequent drafts, 3 computers, from floppy disks to CD's to DVD's. I must still have a few different versions stored away somewhere.
    I deleted the final draft without submitting it again to publishers because I had outgrown my subject and could not endorse my old thinking anymore.
    I would love to have a published novel, but I would hate for this particular novel to be in print now, with my name on it.
    I learned what I had to lean from it and I have moved on. I have recycled some ideas or settings that I particularly liked from it.
    I'll probably read a few pages of the old hand-written draft when I happen on it again, have a good laugh and feel much better about my current work.
     
  8. Blue_Lotus

    Blue_Lotus New Member

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    To the poster who said your siggy can destroy things...

    That is so spot on! My ex hubby took all my old papers, and burned them along with my cloths and other items. One of them was a pome I had written for the Native American Historical Society Young Poets Contest. It was not published because it came in Second place, to this day I still feel its loss. I have even tried to recreate it but I just can't seem to find all the same words anymore. :( I contacted the Society, but they don't keep records longer than 3 years, so it was already long gone by then :(

    I do know of a few people who have taken their old work from middle school and what have you and re tuned them a bit and published them as childrens books. :) That is always way cool!
     
  9. Ursus_Buckler

    Ursus_Buckler New Member

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    I almost never keep anything from when I was young as I find it embarassing. Also, I find it stops me from progressing- if I already have something written down about a story I find it very hard to change the text, so just starting again from scratch is nearly always the option I'll choose.
     
  10. spklvr

    spklvr Contributor Contributor

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    Looking at my old writing, I'm kind of amazed at how mature the topics I wrote about were. I mean, I was 11-12 years old when I really started writing, and it's about sex and drugs and gay stuff even. Is it really normal for kids that age to think about those things? Makes me worried for my sanity :p
     
  11. Blue_Lotus

    Blue_Lotus New Member

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    ^"Makes me worried for my sanity" thats ok so long as you are asking yourself Am I crazy, because crazy people don't ask that they assume everyone else is nuts and they are prefectly normal. :)
     
  12. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    You're totally normal - kids know about way more things than adults ever give them credit for.
     
  13. PenandPencil

    PenandPencil New Member

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    Hi,

    I wrote my first novel when I was 9. It was handwritten and just over 50 pages. At the time, it was the BESTEST novel EVAR. *ahem* But reading it now it's just ... laughable. But it's nice to see how much I am improving. Which is nice, I suppose.
     
  14. theweatherman

    theweatherman New Member

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    A lot of the early things I wrote (young teen) were bad– just plain awful. So, I went onto my old computer, put them all onto a USB stick, and stuck it in a bottle. The next week, I tossed it off the coast of Cape Cod. It felt good to put all of my poor writing behind me, as I was discouraged my writing would turn out like it always did. Maybe someday, someone will find the USB washed up on some shore and check out the "How Not to Write" folder. Hopefully the finder can learn a few things...
     
  15. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    ^ Hey, I live on the coast in Florida, and my friends and I found a flashdrive in this bottle on the beach the other day....




    :D Not really. But it would've been awesome...
     
  16. Pythonforger

    Pythonforger Carrier of Insanity

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    I myself am a 12 year old.

    Though I find the stuff I wrote when I was 8, say, was boring. But strangely, the characters were often more developed, even if in a slapstick sort of way, than some novels I've read.

    You could easily tell Olaf Chopman(The name is taken from A Series of Unfortunate Events) was the evil guy, the guy who carries a gun and detailed plans for his destruction of the world around, and smirks evily. His hideout is in the sewers.

    You could easily tell an unnamed leader of my MC's secret organisation was the rebel hero. He struggled hard to defeat Olaf, pulled together resources and generally shot Olaf as he puts the knife to my MC's throat.

    My MC, Davy Jones(Pirates of the Carribean! :p) was a determined man, crafty(but not in the "bad" way) and clever, good at weapons. He set one of those Tom and Jerry style rope traps for Olaf, stole his plans, and basically defeated overwhelming odds.

    Cartoonish and comical characters, but better than the blank, generic, vague average male you get in SOME novels.
     
  17. Sundae

    Sundae New Member

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    I never delete my stuff. The first scholarship/trophy I won was when I had to write an essay on "what my home means to me" in fifth grade. First place baby, and even though I have done bigger and badder things since that fifth grade assignment, it's secretly my favorite award.
     
  18. Leah

    Leah Member

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    I keep everything. I am starting a website under my pen name for all my writing "stuff" and have a corner for my early ramblings.

    OY the drama of a 16 year old with a crush on a boy who doesn't like her back. Painful, but insightful! LOL
     
  19. Darran

    Darran New Member

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    This is so subjective. If you hoard...keep it..if not bin it! thats my top tip ;)
     
  20. chatterbox

    chatterbox Member

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    I will not throw any work out in case of a situation where I am in need of a child's way of saying something in the future ( I'm 12 :p )
     

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