Photo credit @Jennifer Pendergast
Burning the Trash
By. T. Delaplain
Every chapter Peter burned brought him closer to clarity. He wasn’t a writer, just a hack.
He cut through the painful details of his deficiencies leaving only shreds of regret and a pile of literary trash. The premise had been brilliant, the main characters tragically flawed but likable.
Regrettably, the meandering storyline couldn’t climb out of the plot holes with a ladder. He ripped out another page and tossed it into the welcoming flames; so satisfied to watch his first draft combust.
Unable to stop the insistent chatter from his characters, he reluctantly agreed that resurrection from the ashes might indeed be possible.
**Join us at Friday Fictioneers. Rochelle Wisoff will give you 100 words to resurrect your draft. Some drafts shouldn’t survive the flames but other times, they just need someone to light a fire under them.
Tracey Delaplain, MD 
You’ve captured every writer’s feeling of failure. And the way our characters take over our lives.
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I have one who constantly nags me to finish his story. I’m standing my ground. Ha ha
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Oh this one is a bit too real! 🙂
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If the shoe fits …. burn it.
Thanks for reading and commenting, my main character likes that.
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The first of what will, I’m sure, be many rewrites
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Rewrites, ugh, that’s a dirty word.
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Almost all of writing is rewriting
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Is this a familiar tale of a writer? Possibly so! Good stuff
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I believe so. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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I am not sure if Stephen King actually said, “never throw anything away”. It seems burning the pages means a first draft will never materialise, or will the rewrite become better?
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And yet there’s something satisfying about burning a bad draft. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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i agree with stephen king. a bad draft could lead to a new discovery. 🙂
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I wish I was betterat burning the disasters. It might clear a path for new growth
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I use delete liberally but I can’t actually say that I’ve burned my words. Thanks for the photo and for stopping by. Tracey
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Yes, a recognisable scenario! I hope he persists!
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Boy do I know that feeling. Well done.
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Thank you
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Yup! You said it!
And btw, I love your post note.
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Thank you
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Those pesky noisy characters, desperate for their story to be told. I feel this hard, but it is indeed satisfying to burn the pages sometimes.
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Seriously, you can’t shut ‘em up sometimes. I have a few who have persisted long after I burned (deleted) them.
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Well captured. We’ve all been there. I’ve written some things I’m embarrassed to read, but I’ve never destroyed them. Sometimes, it’s fun to go back and see the vast improvement a few drafts can make.
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And sometimes I revisit earlier work and think how brilliant I was. Ha ha
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That’s the best.
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Too often I’ve destroyed a draft and then wished I hadn’t! I never learn.
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I actually save the trash and then wondered later, “What was I thinking?” Thanks for reading Keith.
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Dear Tracey,
I wouldn’t show anyone my first draft of Please Say Kaddish for Me at gunpoint. Hopefully his next draft will rise from the ashes and be a major success. Fun piece.
Shalom,
Rochelle
PS. You might want to revisit the second sentence and replace “We” with “He.”
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You give me hope.
That was a weird typo, thank you for pointing out. Tracey
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Oh no – burning that is so final, I don’t think I could do that 😃
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But so satisfying, ha ha
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Yep, the first draft is always totally, completely awful. I hope that second draft strikes his fancy a little more!
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It sounds like his characters think so.
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Sometimes you have to destroy to create.
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That’s what they say. Thanks for reading and commenting, Tracey
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“Unable to stop the insistent chatter from his characters”–boy, does that ever nail it. Many times, as I’ve struggled to write, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a better editor than I am a writer. Still, my characters demand that their voices be heard.
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I hear you but I write something most days anyway.
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This was a very relatable story!
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Thank you,
Tracey
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Ooh this one cuts close to the bone. It’s painful to realize one has done disservice to their creations. Hoping she decides to resurrect them and gives them a worthy world to inhabit.
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