One of the things about having an indoor cat is that you periodically have to completely clean out the litter box. I'm pretty good at taking care of the clumps and poops every day or two, but I confess I procrastinate when it comes to dumping it all out and starting from scratch. Maybe it's my semi-frugal upbringing (it doesn't seem right to dump out what seems to be perfectly good, albeit somewhat smelly, litter) or maybe it's just that I'm not Suzy Homemaker (unlike my dear friend who recently ran away to live on a sailboat and who I'm sure will die of boredom without having a whole house to clean).
A year ago, I dumped my novel out and started from scratch. It was a frightening thing to do, but it had to be done. I started over from page one, and while I retained some of the underlying story elements, several of the main characters, and the primary landscape, I minimized or omitted elements that had previously been louder, and I experimented with new ones, sort of like trying out a new brand of kitty litter. I spent the better part of a year overhauling the novel.
And since then I've spent many months cleaning out clumps and poops and periodically adding fresh litter, oops! I mean fresh literary elements, to the pages. Is it better now? I hope so. But now I'm coming to the stage where I wonder...am I really seeing the finish line out there, or is it simply time to completely clean out the litter box again?
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I'm loving the literature = litter metaphor. Good luck with getting the poops out.
ReplyDeleteThat takes guts to start from scratch. page one..........Yikes. Sending positive vibes and cat hair your way
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this. I also recently decided to dump the whole thing and start over instead of meticulously editing (scooping the poop and adding fresh litter) a manuscript in serious need of a fresh start. It is scary, but liberating, too, don't you think? Twas a time when I couldn't imagine doing such a thing probably because I wasn't confident I had enough supply of "fresh litter." Had to save that old stinky stuff because what if that was all I had? But you know... now I'm not worried about it. As long as I have days on the planet, the supply of fresh litter will not run out.
ReplyDeleteHi Gail. Thanks for pointing me to your blog. Where is your "followers" button? That will help your friends keep up with your new posts a lot easier. I'm enjoying your writing so far, and I agree, it must take guts to start an entire novel over again from scratch. I think it takes guts to even write a novel in the first place. In my book, that makes you a dare devil writing--the only kind to be! (And you too, Tammy!). ~Katey
ReplyDeleteWell this sucks, I just replied to my commenters and lost my comment. Duh.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'll try again.
Old Doc Huck: I figure the poops is akin to Anne LaMott's ~!!@# that always shows up in the first draft.
Kelly: Thanks but no thanks, don't need any extra cat hair.
Tammy: We will not run out of fresh litter opportunities so long as there are recyclables around.
Katey: My followers button is way down below, keep scrolling!