Delete...and Start Creating

Embracing the writer's competing impulses to make and to destroy

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Whence comes creative inspiration?

Hello, dear Readers! I am Kristen M. Castrataro, but you can call me "K." I was planning on using this inaugural post to introduce myself and reveal the deep meaning behind my blog title. I even wrote such a post. It was lyrical. It was philosophical. It was boring beyond belief. So, I did what every writer sometimes does: I scrapped the whole thing and started over.

In that simple act of deletion, I found my inspiration.

Find meaning in the spaces

We writers are judged -- and paid -- according to the lines and squiggles that end up immortalized on crisp paper or computer drives. Word count. Word length. Key words. Sentence construction. The writing profession has a way to measure, analyze, and critique every jot and tittle.

The irony is that art -- including written art -- relies as much on what is absent as it does on what is present. Visual artists refer to this as "negative space." Composer Claude Debussy called it the "space between the notes." Writers know it as "white" or "blank" space, the places on the page that are literally...blank...completely devoid of words or images.

Regardless of what you call it, "space" plays a critical role in creating meaning. The open space on the page (canvas, screen, stage, score) serves to highlight and invite engagement with the main subject. In its own way, space is as much a character as Tiny Tim, whose absence teaches Scrooge the lesson of a lifetime.

Embrace rejection

Like all characters, space must be created. It is the supreme plot twist that the creation of those characters involves destruction. Few great writers...and even fewer run-of-the-mill writers like this one...sit down, write a complete work, and express complete satisfaction with the result. For most of us, writing is a process. Sometimes a very long process.

My personal process might best be called redactive. For every one word I keep, I try and discard a dozen. Sometimes I reject the words and ponder alternatives without touching my keyboard. This saves my right ring finger a great deal of wear and tear, as I don't need to press "Del" to eliminate them. It doesn't do much for my reputation with my family, however, as they fail to understand how staring into space can possibly constitute "work."

More often, the words flow from the keyboard at 65 words per minute...only to be immediately deleted at 90. There is no one reason for said deletion. Poor word choice, sloppy sentence structure, inflated imagery...all are reasons to "murder my darlings," as Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch so aptly put it. On a good day, I only delete words, sentences, and the occasional paragraph. On a bad day, the whole shebang goes.

Start creating

I used to resist giving up on a piece of writing. It seemed like admitting defeat or, worse yet, walking away from a potential goldmine. Truth be told, I still resist a little. (The "scrapped" blog I mentioned ? It's in the draft folder even now!)

On the whole, however, I have come to appreciate the mystery that I call "creation by deletion." It's a bit baffling that getting rid of words can actually give birth to words, but it's true. Substituting, rearranging, and even eradicating are essential parts of the creative process. And it holds true for all art. Every filmmaker has a cutting room floor, every sketch artist an eraser, every writer a delete key.

I have come to realize that the real measure of a writer -- dare I say the real measure of a person? -- lies not in what is, but in what is left behind. Not in what is said, but in what is left unsaid. Not in what is done for all to see, but what is done (or not done) when nobody is watching.

What about you? How have you experienced -- or resisted -- creation by deletion in your life or work? Share them in the comments.

As for me, I think it's time to permanently delete that draft.

I value open, honest, and respectful discourse and am eager to hear your thoughts on this post. Please respond to others as if you were talking to your grandmother. I reserve the right to remove or edit any comment that features name-calling, curses, insults, bullying, or just plain rudeness. Thanks for your support!