Month: August 2026

August 24, 2026

Name one thing that a writer should never do.

I’m going to skip the obvious.

You’ve heard it before. Never stop writing. There’s a lot of truth in the statement, but you’ve heard it before. I won’t bore you with repeating it.

Here’s a close second. Never throw away your discarded drafts. You never know when some part of them may come in useful. I’ve repeated the story about how The Rimer Files was derived from a story I wrote over a decade ago. And—hurrah!—the second book in the series, The Donovan File, went to the editor this past week. Now, I’m not suggesting that every word that spills from your pen onto a piece of paper is a New York Times bestseller. I can’t count how many times I’ve started and stopped trying to write another book in the Free Wolves series. Four? Five? Well, I’m trying again, and finding the scattering of other starts is making me crazy. (It’s been since 2018 that I wrote a book in that series.)

Shoot, tucked away in an envelope in a cardboard box, I have a draft of a story I wrote back in 1975. It’ll stay there, likely for the rest of my life, but I get a measure of joy from the reminder of what I accomplished.

I also have binders and files of poems that have never been published.

And won’t be. Some exist only as files on old computer flash drives. I’m okay with that.

The point is, I won’t know if I want to reference some small phrase of past writing until I actually need it. And I don’t have to wonder if it ended up in the trash somewhere, sometime. Oh, there are things that ended in a garbage can. I’m not totally delusional, and capable of writing trash.

Here’s an example of keeping discarded writing: I wrote a scene about a kidnapped girl as the opening scene for The Donovan’s File. When it was finished, I loved it, but I knew it wasn’t right. I set it aside and kept trying to figure out how to include it. I was halfway thru the story before I found a spot.

So, here’s my advice: hold on to those scraps of writing. If they are kept as computer files, no one will know you have them and can’t accuse you of hoarding.

What do the other authors advise? Find out by following the links below.

And, as always, please stay safe until the next time.

August 24, 2026

Name one thing that a writer should never do.