Finishing Old Writing Projects

 

The keyword in today's poster is 'finish.' Six letters and a powerful word. Runners must finish the race. Football teams need to finish the game. Artists must finish their paintings. Sculptors need to finish what they began. And of course, writers need to finish what they've started. 

Check your files. How many unfinished projects are sitting there, idling away the time? I have some, and I'm betting you do, too. We get a great idea for a new story or essay or poem and write the first draft, or even part of a first draft. Then, for various reasons, we put it in a file and don't go back to finish what we started.It makes me think of mothers who tell their children that if the child put a certain amount of food on their plate, they must eat all of it. Moms are saying, 'You started it, so you must finish.'

I'm going to be the mean mom and tell you that, if you started a writing project, you need to finish it. Maybe you put it in a file and left it there because you hit a snag and didn't know how to overcome it. Perhaps you lost interest because you didn't think your idea was panning out as well as you first thought.  Maybe life got so busy that you forgot you had the partially done piece in a file. There are any number of reasons why half-done stories languish in a file. The longer it is there, the easier it is to forget. Out of sight, out of mind.

For your writing exercise today, why not go through your files and look for those unfinished pieces. Read and assess the situation. Does it seem worthwhile to continue working on the story? Is the idea as good now as it was when you first came up with it? Does the partially done piece spark your interest? Pick one that looks like it has some promise and work on it this next week. 

Those who do handiwork like embroidery or quilted hangings or applique can tell you they have more than one unfinished project. So do woodworkers and weavers. It's human nature to have a few unfinished products. I'm sure there are some artists and craftsmen who never start a new piece until the last one is finished. They are probably the minority group, however. 

Occasionally, something you see or hear will trigger a memory of an unfinished writing project. That is exactly the time to dig it out and see if you can breathe some life into it again. A contest theme or a call for a submission with a theme might bring a memory of an unfinished piece that might work for the contest or call. 

Check those files for half-done pieces of writing. Finish one, and you'll feel like you truly accomplished something. One thing to remember is that something you wrote some time ago may look entirely different to you now than when you dropped it in the file and walked away. And, that can go either way. You'll either see some potential or realize it wasn't worth continuing even now. Not everything we write is a masterpiece.