It’s the first Wednesday of the month and time for another posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.
It’s nearing the end of spring here. And I’ve been spring cleaning since the middle of winter… The definition of spring cleaning is to get rid of things you hoard, get rid of the cobwebs that gathered in neglected corners, and to make your space clean and neat for a new season. I take this to mean the mind as well, not just your physical world.
I wanted to wait until my Irascible Immortals series was perfect – you know, all editions, formats and languages out in the world. But I have this unbearable itch to clean. So, though there are still things that need to be done for that series, I’ve started to clean.
The most important thing: getting rid of all the hand-written pages, printed out and edited pages, the notes, the old editions on my hard drive (including old covers), and anything I no longer need.
Yes, I can be a bit of a hoarder. I have backups of backups of backups. I have binders filled with various versions of the story as I wrote it. (This counts for other series as well.)
But why keep it when it’s no longer needed?
I’ve wanted a worm farm for a while now. I have a regular old (huge) compost heap with things that come from the stables, the chicken coops, etc. But a worm farm has always had this magical appeal: throw in a manuscript and watch the worms devour it faster than a reader…
So I finally took the plunge and built one.
It has a satisfying feeling attached to it, seeing all of those papers covered with my words reduced to nothing more than plant food. Much more satisfying than having more space on my hard drive… though that’s cool, too.
I’ve shredded old print outs of manuscripts, keeping only the most up-to-date version along with the digital backup on a flashdrive (and emailed to myself), clearing space in my closet and on my hard drive.
While going through files, I found a few flash fiction pieces I wrote about my various characters in the Irascible Immortals series. I decided to share a funny Thor story with my newsletter subscribers as an ebook and audiobook in Afrikaans and English. Yes, the image is probably AI generated, though I got it from Pixabay.
It’s another good way to share the Irascible Immortals world with those who haven’t read the series yet and a good laugh for those who have.
I also turned an old subscriber story into an ebook and audiobook to download from my store (just for newsletter subscribers) instead of sending them to a page on my website. The horse on the cover is the main character in the story.
I’m all about clearing out the cobwebs and seeing what happens when the sun can actually shine through the windows…
What have you done for your mental health lately? You can learn loads more on my For Authors page here.
No-one writes about the fae like Ronel Janse van Vuuren.
I admire (and envy) your industry. I’ve been meaning to sort out my hard drives for several years, from curating the photos to sorting the stories so I can find them when I need them. Especially covers – there are between three and six places I have to look for covers, usually three for each series. And, while I used to need all the back-up copies just in case… they are out, published and finished with now. The final version would probably do, in case I find yet another typo I need to change. But then there are bits I cut out…
Wormeries are great. I have space for several compost heaps, which do the garden just fine, and no need for worms for hens, so my paper can go on those especially if it’s sensitive. Otherwise good paper goes into the recycling as it makes less good paper like newsprint.
I’ve just realised – I’ve been getting your newsletter in Afrikaans (sorry, I mistook it for Dutch). It was back to English for the last two, though.
Although – maybe some of your handwritten manuscripts should be preserved for a museum?
Weird that the newsletter, which I only write and send in English, came through in a different language.
I used to think that my handwritten manuscripts should be preserved, too 🙂
I don’t think many people think of doing a spring cleaning of their manuscripts and writings. I used to print chapters and once a whole manuscript for a publisher. Since I have them on my computer and thumb drive, I’ve recycled the pages too.
Recycling is such a great way to get rid of all the excess paper we go through as writers 🙂
Your old papers are now a worm farm – now that is original!
Thanks, Alex.
You inspire me, as always! I, too, hoard those old MSS. I don’t mind the computer space (text files are NOTHING compared to the terrabytes of photos I have). But I really don’t need edited print-outs of every book I’ve written. I have occasionally used a few pages to show students how painful the editing process can and needs to be. But a few samples would do the job. It would create some serious closet space to ditch all the intermediate copies. Especially the early books, that I drafted longhand!
More closet space is one reason I got rid of the various drafts 🙂
In soggy Westmoreland, it’s autumn. Fall would suggest a blaze of fire, .
Not exactly, though this year, for some reason, the mould spots on wet dead leaves are brown, not black.
Compost bins already full, but with temperatures down to 4 some nights – there is the woodburner.
UK crime classic, a future best seller’s discovered whern, to save paper, she recycles part of a ms not really intended for publication. ( Miss Pym Disposes, Tey, 1946 )n
I’ve read one-too-many books where a stalker went through an author’s recycling and used their words to destroy (and kill) people around them to recycle my manuscripts. My middle-name is probably “Paranoid”. LOL
I’m loving the story of a horse MC with a horse on the cover is titles Year of the Pig!
Thank you. It will be shared with my newsletter subscribers next month 🙂
I always enjoy your thorough and insightful posts. Spring cleaning sounds good, though it would be fall cleaning for me in my hemisphere. I like the idea of composting as well. I get so much inspiration from you. Thanks bunches for stopping by my blog and your words of encouragement.
You’re welcome, Toi 🙂 I started cleaning in the middle of winter. LOL.
I wish I’d do that. Maybe when I finish this trilogy.
It’s cathartic 🙂
Ha ha! When I first read your post, I read it as “warm farm”, and I’m like, what’s that? A worm farm is more understandable! That must feel great to declutter. I’ve thought about the Amazon option of creating audiobooks for my older books–did you do something like that? How was the experience?
I record my own audiobooks 🙂 I have done the route of having someone else record my debut, but I’ve decided to do it myself for the rest. You can learn all about that here: https://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/adventures-in-audio-an-introduction-to-audio-production-iwsg-authorpreneur/
It’s a great idea. I have several gigs of data I could probably purge. Instead, I moved it to flash drives, in case I need it for some reason later.
My mental health? I did some more reading and wrote two book reviews. And worked more on my next novel. That’s better than other non-writing life activities as of late.
The first Friday in October is World Smile Day, a day dedicated to spreading smiles and performing acts of kindness. 😊
J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) @JLenniDorner ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge
Writing is always a good way to take care of yourself 🙂
I love this idea. In a sense your work now belongs to nature. Well Done.
Thank you 🙂