How to Let a Writing Project Go

I have a secret. I hide bodies. They exist in the depths of my computer, within abandoned notebooks, and in the crevices of my Google Docs. I keep them for years on end, too attached to hold on but desperate to let go. But I have one rule: I never visit them.

Don’t worry, the bodies are fictional. They make up the casts of characters in tucked away manuscript remnants. These works are overflowing with words splashed onto pages late at night or in the sacred lunchtime hours that I squirrel away to sacrifice to my craft. I can guarantee, if you’re a creative of any kind, you have them too.

So what do you do with these corpses of creative genius past? If you write, inevitably you will create work that doesn’t move out of the Frankenstein stage. It can be difficult to let go of work you desperately want to make work. Lucky for you, there is a three-step process to move on to the next writing project. It starts with deciding it’s time to put a fading project out of its misery.

1. Decide it’s time

First, you need to decide if it’s truly time to let a writing project go. Chances are if you’ve clicked through to this article you have a piece of writing in mind. There are a few symptoms of a withering project. It may be time to let a writing project go if:

• You have tried multiple rewrites but to no avail
• There is no more passion for the writing project
• The plot has too many holes to patch
• There’s no point or plot to the piece to begin with
• You are too close to the topic emotionally

The key here is not to use the words ‘give up’. Not even in your head. It’s negative and it gives you the feeling of failure. There’s just no space for negativity here, only more writing.

2. Pan for gold

I bet the piece you’re looking to retire has its fair share of imagery that gives you chills and intriguing scenes you just can’t stand to part with. Those bits might be the sole reason you’ve held on to the piece for so long. Before you lay all that hard work to rest, take one last scavenger hunt for salvageable bits. You want to look for good snippets and the potential for a reusable plotline. Here’s what I recommend you keep an eye out for:

• Reusable scenes
• Snappy dialogue
• Mouthwatering imagery
• Unique character traits and quirks

There may be some cases where the entire plot could be repurposed if only something were tweaked. Maybe you just need to change the setting or the ages of your characters. You may want to save an entire character and fling them into a different world at a later date. Nothing is stopping you from making those changes, however great or small. After you’ve collected the nuggets of gold from your hard work, it’s time to move on to the final step in the process of letting go.

3. Tuck it away

It’s time to wipe the slate clean by hiding the evidence of your project ever existing. This helps you remove it from the residence it’s settled into within your mind. By having a premium spot in your home physically, you’re more likely to think about the writing project and in turn, fret about it. If the remnants of your manuscript are clogging up a spot on your bookshelf or a prominent location in your desk drawer, you need to give it a new home. The perfect spot for a writing project you want to move away from is a place you won’t see often. Try putting it onto a hard drive or placing it in a box under your bed.

It’s important to note, I never recommend letting go of your retired projects entirely. Don’t wipe it from existence. Keep one digital and one physical copy. You put time into the piece and sometimes ideas we thought were dead and gone find a way to resurrect themselves. The point is, we aren’t Marie Kondo-ing your creations out of existence. We are simply, providing them with a proper burial.

And one last thing. While your writing project didn’t come to fruition this time around, it doesn’t mean you aren’t a writer. There is simply a different story you need to tell. Get to writing.