On Old Material

So, last night I was reading over some old material I started to write, but never finished because I just lost steam. All of a sudden, I came up with an idea about how to end it. And that’s one of the things about writing that I love.

I think all writers will agree with me when I say we have a TON of writing material but only a fraction of it we actually finish and publish. Most of the notebooks I have are filled with stories I started to write (in high school, college, etc.) that I never really went back to finish. Not only do I have a lot of material in notebooks, but I also have the same amount sitting in my documents folder on my laptop and external hard drive collecting digital dust! When I get the time I’ll try to go and read them over to see if anything sparks my interest.

The piece I read last night was supposed to be one of my earlier short stories that I was going to post back in May. But, like I said earlier, I lost steam with it, so I never went back to finish. I was really bummed about leaving that story unfinished because my character was someone I hadn’t written about before and they still are. Now, I’m excited to type it up and start working on it so I can give you all the chance to read. I’m hoping to have it finished in the next couple of days!

I find that when I write things out on paper for the first draft, I usually don’t finish them. I’m not entirely sure why that is… maybe some psychologist or psychology enthusiast can help me pick my brain about that. It’s funny because I could type up whatever I started writing and instantly continue on with the story, even if I had no idea where I was going to go next. It’s probably why my notebooks are all filled with quarter or half written ideas.

I like going back and reading over old material for a few reasons:

• It helps me see how much I’ve grown as a writer.
• I’m looking for something new to write and maybe the character I developed in an older story could be useful in a newer setting.
• I’m looking to get that spark of interest to finish it because to me, there’s a reason why I started to write that story.

You might start seeing some of my old material pop into my short stories. I won’t tell you which ones they were. I guess that’ll be the challenge to see if you can figure out what stories I started writing in high school or what I came up with now.

Thanks for reading!

-Emi