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Monday, March 06, 2006

Garbage In, Garbage Out

In our mad preparations for moving at the end of the month, Loving Husband and I have been sorting through stacks and stacks of paperwork. (We're both packrats, which is a real problem when we're also both messy as heck and have trouble maintaining a filing system that actually works.) We decided that we're keeping relevant paperwork and are ditching things we don't need.

So I finally threw out all my rejection letters -- dating back to 1994. Every single one (in hard copy) is gone. Later today, I'll do the same for my electronic rejections.

I also ditched a pile of notes for my first novel, that elusive Great American Novel, the failed contemporary fantasy. The notes went back 16 years, and they formed a stack that was more than one foot high.

At one point, I will be starting from scratch with the GAN -- with no baggage. (Yeah, I still have electronic copies of the actual manuscript versions. Those I'll keep. But the notes, the half-formed thoughts, the stuff shackling me to one vision of that old novel, those are gone.)

It's damn liberating. And kind of sad -- it's sort of the end of an era. But I've decided that this move is going to herald a new mindset, one that's not shaped by constant reminders of rejection. Instead, I'm going to focus on my successes, and on constructive feedback that will lead to future successes.

That, and chocolate. :)

5 Comments:

At 2:40 PM, Blogger Faith Bicknell said...

Our intuitive astrologer at WCP told me that doing such things aids in bringing blessings in to replace the old stuff.

 
At 10:07 PM, Blogger Jpatrick said...

It's a sanctifying and cleansing feeling to do this. I call it de-junking.

 
At 2:07 PM, Blogger Jackie said...

I think it's very liberating. And like jpatrick says, it feels cleansing.

Maybe that's the ammonia talking... :)

 
At 6:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lovely Wife and I are preparing to move. So, how'd yours turn out? The move was the end of March, it's now June. Were you able to "garbage out" successfully? Has that new mindset stuck?

 
At 7:34 PM, Blogger Jackie said...

Garbage definitely out, Anon! Loving Husband and I are very, very happy in our new home, as are the Precious Little Tax Deductions, Elder and Younger. :-) Good luck with your move!

 

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