Anyone who has spent time trying to produce compelling writing knows the process isn't as smooth as stretching the fingers, taking a few sips of coffee, and letting ideas flow smoothly from the brain onto the screen. The junk yard image isn't inviting for many, especially because we all want to be successful, and creating junk is the opposite of what we hope to accomplish. We want clean, crisp copy that is compelling, but I believe there is value in the heaping pile of junk that is often a first effort.
1. There are Hidden Gems. A heaping pile of proverbial word junk, though unappealing to the untrained eye, is in fact a boon for many writers. Among all of the bad ideas that end up taking up residence on the page, there are hidden gems. Think of small flecks of gold that end up in a pan full of sentiment. Both Peter Elbow and Anne Lamont write about the importance and power of just getting ideas to the page- even if they only seem like bad ideas, at least there is forward momentum that can create opportunities for better second and third drafts. Oh heaping pile of proverbial word junk, I see thee not as just a pile of worthlessness- you are indeed ripe compost, from which the seeds of great ideas will blossom!
2. Failures Provide Lessons. In the midst of failure, there are important lessons, and the "put a heaping pile of junk on the page approach" may seem to invite failure. No one likes to fail, and when I dive into something new, I want to do a perfect, four-rotation twist and go in head first without a splash. Most of us want to be wildly successful in the initial efforts to get words to the page, but successes in writing rarely come without some measure of shortcoming. Being wrong and failing isn't fun, but seeing failure as opportunity (or seeing that big pile of junk as a great opportunity to do some recycling) could be quite beneficial. Oh heaping pile of proverbial word junk, the lessons you teach are rich, and from the failures strewn about in your midst are little lessons on what to do next.
3. Ideas need Time to Incubate. Some of the greatest inventions came about over lots of successive attempts and through dogged effort. Tim Burners Lee spent more than ten years developing the World Wide Web, and in ten years of thinking this through, there were certainly mounds and heaps of proverbial junk. Loads of ideas didn't work. Contrary to popular belief, breakthrough ideas are more-or-less the product of trial and error. The pile of junk that is the first draft can seem unmanageable and unruly, but eventually, value emerges. Something shiny catches the eye, and beneath some old refrigerator or hidden near a scrap of metal, are the breakthrough ideas that will make the piece of writing successful. Oh heaping pile of proverbial word junk, I salute you for laying the groundwork for laying the groundwork for better and more successful ideas!
In closing, it is important to note that borrowing the junk of others- re-purposing if you will, can also be a boon for creativity. The film industry is famous for its ability to re-purpose junk from the past and make it shiny and new again. In my next posting, I'll write about remix culture and ways to make old content new again.
