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Thanks, Bearden
That's one helluva comment. You and Kay-Ren should both consider pasting your comments into a post to get maximum exposure to the thoughts expressed in your excellent comments that go a step beyond the very good, and way beyond the ordinary comments I see. I'm very impressed by both of you.
posted by
notapoet
on April 25, 2004 at 12:19 PM
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Ditto that
As much as I enjoy technology (word processors were a Godsend to those of us just old enough to remember having to type assignments on typewriters) I can't quite get comfortable with the tiny, but real, risk of my words getting lost in cyberspace, never to be read. People may laugh at me when I write drafts in long hand, save my documents every minute or two, and print hard copies before logging off but I feel a bit more secure knowing that if the unthinkable happens (system crashes, server goes down, I'm logged off prematurely, Armageddon) at least I'll have something to work from and won't have to completely re-create my document from scratch. Re-writes that are done to polish, refine, or clarify are good and necessary things. But having to re-create a document that got lost and is gone forever is beyond daunting. It's demoralizing. The second try is never as good as the first. Thoughts that once flowed smoothly now seem forced. Where once it just "happened" now you seem to be trying, like a has-been movie star trying to hold on to glory days.
I wonder where all of those lost words go. Think there's a parallel universe where people are reading undeliverable e-mails, accidentally deleted term papers, and lost blogs?
posted by
Bearden
on April 25, 2004 at 11:23 AM
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Kay-Ren
You hit the nail on the head with your analogy. I wish I'd thought of it, 'cause that's how I felt. It was as if my posts had been stolen from me before I got full value for my $5.95. Thanks, Doll.
posted by
notapoet
on April 25, 2004 at 8:11 AM
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It's one thing to rewrite for a reason. It's totally different to have to rewrite because the original and only copy poofed. It's like buying something that you've bought once before but it was stolen. You hate to spend the money on it because you didn't get all your value out of the first one but you want the item in your life. That item will always have the stigma of "Damn I had to buy that twice". I have one Music CD that I've had to buy four times! Queen's "It's a kind of magic." The one time I had to replace it because it was stolen hurt the most. The one I broke didn't hurt much. I messed up and I could fix it. Having it stolen or poofing is worse because it occurred outside our realm of control.
posted by
Kay-Ren
on April 25, 2004 at 7:44 AM
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beachbelle,
You're absolutely correct about commissioned work. The same thing applies to work written against a deadline. I also agree with you about not needing to rewrite personal material. Most of what I classify as personal is the various jottings in my notebooks. These do eventually get used, or rewritten, as part of another project. But when you don't have to fulfill a commission or meet a deadline you can give yourself the luxury of as many rewrites as necessary to satisfy yourself.
I have to catch up on my reading sometime today. Much to my embarrassment, I was temporarily locked out over some problem with my account status. Everything appears to be cleared up now. Everything except for me being put further in the hole again. It all seems to fit with my recent post about Murphy's Law in the Humor category.
posted by
notapoet
on April 25, 2004 at 4:57 AM
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invinoveritas
Thanks for the kind words. I agree with your observation about writing being rewriting. Often the so-called finished piece is just the rewrite that happened to be published (or posted here on
Blogit). Some of my favorite writers have rewritten short stories into novellas or complete novels. I'm currently reading three different authors who have expanded what was originally a short story into a continuing series of novels.
posted by
notapoet
on April 25, 2004 at 4:44 AM
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Notapoet
If the writing is just for me I would only rewrite if I could be bothered. If someone has commissioned me to write something, I rewrite - no hesitation. I have found that the rewriting is less painful - once i get going - than thinking about it -as I said in my post.
posted by
beachbelle
on April 25, 2004 at 4:26 AM
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Notapoet - Great material
Enjoyable reading you. Clear thinking, good writing. Thanks.
(As for me, I have never finished any piece of writing. I've only had to be satisfied with where I quit rewriting it.) Writing is rewriting, and vice versa.
posted by
invinoveritas
on April 25, 2004 at 4:09 AM
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