“Out With the Old, In With the New”

I don’t know why that particular saying popped into my head the other day.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that 2010 is still relatively new and I’d decided to engage in some much-needed clutter busting and paper purging.

Although “Out with the old, in with the new” refers to what happens at midnight on December 31 when the old year is ushered out and the new is welcomed in, I’ve decided to apply it to several areas of my life in 2010, including my writing.

It’s hard to be a productive writer when you are surrounded by mounds of unidentified papers, when your file drawers are packed with manila folders crammed full of query letters, half-completed manuscripts, ideas for presentations and workshops, and pages and pages of research for writing projects. It makes me tired just reading over this paragraph.

In order not to be overwhelmed by the task at hand, or tempted to give up, I’ve been utilizing the “How do you eat an elephant?” approach – as in “one bite at a time.” An hour looking through old correspondence here, a few hours unearthing the contents of my desk drawers there, and I’m already seeing results, and feeling them, too.

I’m now able to see the top of my desk. The whole darn thing. I can find my laptop without having to push aside towering stacks of paper, magazines, and books, hoping that I don’t provoke an avalanche. If Weight Watchers had a program for writers who are packing too much paper weight, I’ve probably lost enough to qualify as a Lifetime Member.

And what I’ve gained, besides space to work on, is space to work in. As in the space inside my head, where ideas are hatched, characters are born, and stories are written. Yes, Virginia, there really is more between my ears than air. But you never would have known it with all the clutter and chaos going on in there.

As I’ve cleared the clutter from my file cabinets, I’ve calmed the overwhelmed feeling inside me. I can breathe again. It feels good. I know I’m not done. My desk is a work in process. As am I.

I hope to make 2010 the year of new beginnings – new habits, new goals, new stories. Out with the old negative thoughts and the story ideas that won’t go anywhere or that I’m hanging onto, just in case. In case of what, I don’t know. As it is, I have more ideas than a wintering squirrel has nuts stuffed in his cheeks.

So instead of hanging onto reams of research I’ve printed out over the years, I’m making good use of my recycling bin. But before I toss the files, I’m writing the ideas in a notebook. Even though it’s a new year, there’s always a chance that an old idea may turn out to be a great new project.