Old Things

As promised, dear readers, I have returned to more writerly things this go round. I am not as learned in the grammatical arts as the Professor or David, nor do the words come as easily to me as they do for Randy. I also do not have the comic air that come so easily to to Keith, so, that leaves me with what I do know best and that is mine own writing with it's struggles and triumphs all.

 I have mentioned before that I like to go back and read what I wrote previously of my novel after long absences. I like to read it all up to the point I left off as I tend to repeat myself if I don't. I may have also mentioned that this is version two of my novel. The first version was plagued with plot inconsistencies based on changes I made as I went along. Eventually, it got to the point where it was just easier to start over. Now, with version 2.0 well under way, I find myself trying to mesh parts of the old story line into the new. This means that I have to go back to to version 1.0 and read it all through again.

It is amazing the things you find.

The first thing I noticed was how organized I was during that period. Those who know me know that this is not my forte or even high on my list of priorities. My office both at home and at work looks a bit like...oh, what's the phrase?

"There appears to have been a struggle."

Anyway, I went to my box of "All things Darby" and found the most amazing items. A green Trapper Keeper with the entire novel printed out and tabbed at each chapter. It even has the original 3.5" floppy discs that hold the very beginnings of the story in digital form. There are sheaves of typed pages from the absolute beginnings of my quest that were done on both an electric and manual typewriter. It is...interesting...to read these early versions if for no other reason than to see how far I have come.

And maps! And more sketches! Ideas and concepts that I must have thought were brilliant at the time and then later abandoned, I feel as if I am a squirrel tucking away ideas like acorns and then forgetting that they are there. Some of these things I have resolve to resurrect, while others will fade back into obscurity. Perhaps when I am posthumously famous, future fans will dig through my scribblings and doodles and say, "What the hell was wrong with this boy?"

It has been fun to go through all of this again. Yet, I do not want to get lost in these histories. It is the job of the writer to keep moving forward and keep writing. For if we get lost in our research and our planning then we are nothing more than historians and enthusiasts and no longer writers. So, I shall press on with a new scribbled list and a greater sense of how not so bad I was the first go round.