One of the reasons I started blogging was to have something to hold onto. I always threw away the notebooks I started and deleted the folders of computer files I created. I still do.
I’m glad I started writing for keeps. I’m glad I have something to show and to share and return to.
Writing Trash Could Set You Free
But I still believe there’s a benefit to writing things you ultimately throw away, a practice you might call keeping an Unkept Journal.
When you know you’re writing for the sheer experience of writing, you’re free to write anything, about anything, and in any old way you choose.
You’re free to ask questions for which you might never find answers and express opinions for which you might never find supporting facts.
When you know you’re going to throw your writing away, there’s no reason to feel guilty for creating characters who have no story or crafting stories that have no characters.
You can begin something that has no end, end something that has no beginning, or simply dive into the middle of something that has neither a beginning nor an end.
And, knowing that you’ll never have to look at it again, you don’t have to worry about whether it’s good or bad. All you have to do is write it.
There Amidst the Rubbish
Of course, in the midst of all this disposable writing, you will eventually find:
- answers to some of your questions
- facts to support (or even change) some of your opinions
- stories to go with some of your characters
- characters to go with some of your stories
- endings for your beginnings
- beginnings for your endings
- both beginnings and endings for your middles
- and things that you’ll want to look at again.
When this happens, you’re free to clip out the pieces you like, hang onto them, return to them, and eventually make something out of them. It’s always your call. You’re always in control.
Putting Out the Welcome Mat
And, last but not least, when you’re free to write things without concern for keeping them, you’ll find that some things have a way of appearing and reappearing simply because they’re free to do so.
It’s as if they know they don’t have to be anything or do anything. They’re just paying a visit. You’re not got going to put them to work or ask them to earn their keep.
But the more they come to visit, the more you may find yourself thinking about them and wanting to know more about them. In this case, you can always extend an invitation for a longer visit.
You can even prepare a room for them if you’d like them to stay for a while. Once again, it’s your call. You’re in control.
Clear and Free
My own Unkept Journal is a yellow legal pad. I write in it, and, when I’m done, I tear out the pages I’ve filled and throw them in the recycling bin.
Every time I come to it, I have a fresh, clean page to look at. There’s nothing from the past calling for my attention. No demands. No requests. No jobs to be done but the job of writing once more about whatever I choose and in anyway I choose. You can choose to do the same.
Here’s Your “Wasted” Opportunity
If the idea of keeping a journal is keeping you from writing in one, then grab a waste basket. It won’t be a waste of your time.
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