I just finished
reading Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine. Even though it is a writing
book written for children I still learned a lot.
One of her tips
that really struck me was—Save EVERYTHING you write.
She, of course,
is writing this book for kids, so why would she tell them, “don’t discard your
writing lightly”?
I’m just going
to quote her book because she puts it so beautifully.
I used to think long ago, that when I
grew up, I’d remember what it felt like to be a child and that I’d always be
able to get back to my child self. But I can’t. When you become a teenager, you
step onto a bridge. The opposite shore is adulthood. Childhood lies behind. The
bridge is made of wood. As you cross it burns behind you. If you save what you
write, you still won’t be able to cross back into childhood. But you’ll be able
to see yourself in that lost country. You’ll be able to wave to yourself across
that wide river.
This is so
profound to me, and I think it applies to all of us. I’ve been though incredibly
hard trials in my life, but not that I am through them the edge is gone—my burden
had been eased and I can only remember what it was like to feel the pain.
But when I go
back and read what I wrote in those times I can feel it all again.
So listen to
Gail :) Save everything. You never know when an old experience will need to be
relived.
-Angie
