It's the 4th of July and a beautiful afternoon is just beyond my window. The yard is in bloom and calling to me to come outside to write and sit quietly. But, alas, I'm inside the house trying to create order out of an accumulation of papers that spans 20 years. I haven't actually hoarded every paper I've scribbled on, but the addition of the ability to print, with the push of a button, interesting articles and entire short stories has added, in an exponential way, to my godawful accumulation of paper. Now it's time to get things under control. One very large garbage bag is full and I've started filling bag #2. I feel a little faint when I look at the piles of paper on the floor around my desk. I need to find a place for each category. Is it possible? When I get sick of looking at each individual item, I go to the file cabinet and purge some files from there.
My plan is to get the situation under control so that I can devote my limited writing time to finishing the rewrite on the novel. Yes, I'm referring the same damn novel I've been referring to for a very long time. I work on short story rewrites but I can't move on in a serious way until I finish what I've started. How do you eat a whale? One bite at a time. Unfortunately, I can't find my fork with all this paper all over the place!
Happy 4th!
My plan is to get the situation under control so that I can devote my limited writing time to finishing the rewrite on the novel. Yes, I'm referring the same damn novel I've been referring to for a very long time. I work on short story rewrites but I can't move on in a serious way until I finish what I've started. How do you eat a whale? One bite at a time. Unfortunately, I can't find my fork with all this paper all over the place!
Happy 4th!
"$20 fo sel"
I have a friend. He is a formidable scientist and worked his whole life in R&D of various oil companies such as BP and Shell. He often complained that every time he had a really promising scientific idea that begged for his full attention, instead of sitting down and working on it "pen-in-hand" he'd suddenly remember that his files need reorganizing, his desktop - new background and, if working from home, his cupboards need re-arranging, bookshelves - dusting, floor - mopping etc.
ReplyDeleteWhatever it was, he couldn't start on anything "serious" before taking care of whatever it was that bugged him. One would think such modus operandi should've been terribly disruptive and detrimental to the "big science" he was doing... Apparently not. He did lots of good science amidst all of the rearranging, dusting and cleaning...
On the other hand, perhaps whale should be eaten with pitchfork?
I will let the productive scientist be my inspiration as I wake this morning and look at the aftermath of yesterday's enthusiasm. I think I need a shovel more than a pitchfork.
DeleteMy main floor is full of mountains of stuff...boxes and boxes all dragged upstairs from a basement that was flooded by a broken water main 10 days ago. We finally had the carpet cleaned, the pad replaced, and required painting done so this holiday weekend, we can look forward to moving, organizing, and sorting through a lot of stuff. Bob has been really great at all this ant work - before the flood, he had organized the garage, organized the kitchen, and organized my office. So forget about a pitchfork - just get your own Bob.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, this has been great for my writing. I do my part of housework but I also wait a lot while he builds stuff, or wait for workmen he hired to show up, or wait for him to fix something so I can do the next step. I immediately use that waiting time to write!
Sorry about the flooded basement. That is no fun at all. I don't know any Bobs with organizational skills. Maybe I can find one on Craigslist? What I'd really like is someone who loves to clean house and do yardwork, then I'd have time to get supremely organized.
DeleteI hope you're having fun at camp!
I feel your pain! I can't throw away newspapers, magazines, etc. until I've read them with full attention - and they accumulate faster than I can read. Even when I find articles and such that I want to read online...I have all these windows open on my computer until I've finished the darn articles. I thought having an iPad might help reduce the clutter, but I fear that I will just save/download things to read and they will just take up memory and hang out - forgotten because they're not right in front of my face.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you! Hope you managed to sneak in some fun on your 4th!
I used to tear the short stories out of The New Yorker magazine then take them with me on vacations to read. Never read even one of them. I'm glad I'm not alone with my paper problems. I've even lost sections of my novel, and that's pretty ridiculous. Wish you were here so we could start a support group and eat desserts.
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