I’ve just been looking down the list off drafts for the last week. They are also known as false starts, ideas and notes and are there for various reasons.
Last night’s effort stalled after 200 words on the grounds that it was depressing. I can’t see much in it worth salvaging and when I have a clear-out it will probably go. It falls in the gap between being entertaining and cathartic, and that’s a very dull and self-indulgent gap.
The one before that has a copy of Agatha Christie’s Great War VAD record Card, and I have not yet written anything to go with it. I may or may not develop that. Again, it’s just going to be a re-hash of available facts and I’m not sure I can add anything useful to the amount that has been written about her.
The third is my drfat for the 12th May Mass Observation Diary. I’m not sure whether it would serve any purpose if I sent it in.
Fourth is a five line false start on dead badgers. It probably needs a recipe to get it going again. That was originally going to be about blood tests but it was overtaken by the phone call requiring a repeat test. When I returned I started the post again.
Fifth is the start of the original 1926 post. I started that the night before my 1926th post, which ended up being about blood tests. It was not as good as the opening I eventually used. This is saying something, as the opening I used will hardly go down in history with “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
For more good opening lines read here. I must try harder. It’s slightly depressing that a search for ‘best opening lines’ resulted in six sites offering conversational openers for Tinder. They aren’t all great lines, though I did like – “Do you have an ugly boyfriend? No? Want one?”
I’m going to try that on Julia.
The next two are about regimental brooches. Whether they are attempts to bore my readers or drafts for articles, I’m not quite sure, but I have plenty of photographs and I may well put something together to teach you about regimental brooches and the depths of a collector’s soul.
Finally we reach back to Scone Chronicles 38. It was written just before lockdown and I lost the photos. It features scones and Sir Bradley Piggins.
This isn’t quite an accurate account, as I cleared out a few weeks ago and these are just the eight most recent. The real stinkers get binned regularly.
Do you have a similar system, or are all your starts true sparkling jewels of blogging excellence? Or do you clear out more often? I still have some from years ago, where I’m hoping to use a title or a well-turned phrase at some point in the future. I am, in psychological terms, a hoarding optimist.
Finally, the pictures are from the chickpea and peanut butter curry we had from the boxes last night. It was the one I’d looked forward to most eagerly, and the biggest disappointment, as it was tasty but not spicy. I liked the meatballs and the pork steaks better. However, we will be incorporating it into our menu rotation as a variation on the veggie curries we already make. The two photos show natural light and flash versions of the same meal. The one with flash (seen here) is much more welcoming.
Thai red curry – chickpeas and peanut butter
I could have done without the roasted broccoli, which seems to have been a feature of the three meals (it’s covered in sauce in this picture) and there was enough lime with the grated zest on the rice, without using the wedges provided.
Of course, as soon as I say that, WP decides to stop showing me my photographs…
I hope your wife liked the chat up line!
Actually, I thought both photos made the curry look appealing. And after I’ve just had a large lunch that says something.
I don’t have many unfinished drafts. Maybe about five a year, usually where I’ve noted a good idea then promptly forgotten I’d made the note and ended up writing an entirely new post.
I do pull the occasional published post, where I’ve decided it doesn’t – upon reflection – reflect the best side of me.
I said “Have you got an ugly husband?”
And before I could get the rest out she said: “Yes.”
I think it’s a line that works better when written rather than spoken. 🙂
😁
Goodness, I was drooling over that curry picture. I’ve been hungry for some and need to get busy. As for writing, I think the others are right. For instance, I don’t know what a VAD card is, and I bet whatever you wrote about Christie, I would find something new in it. There’s always a different take a different writer brings–just from viewpoint. Courage!! (that’s with a French accent)
I might try to find the picture of her with a surfboard in the 20s. She was a woman of hidden talents. 🙂
My method of posting is the same, quarter to quarter. It is in defined sections on certain topics, content determined by what happened during that quarter.
I agree with Tootlepedal. Just write, and it will be of interest, or at least entertaining. Carry on! 🙂
Thank you. I will. 🙂
Goodness, the amount of planning that goes into your posts put me to shame. My method is to sit down and write anything that comes into my head though I must admit that sometimes through the day, things come into my mind and I say to myself, “I must put that in the blog.” But I usually forget them until it is too late and I have sent the post off.
My view of your posts is, “Don’t worry”, as almost everything that you write is interesting, even when it is boring if you see what I mean.
You do so much that your day is bound to be full of interest and incident, I sit and watch TV or a computer screen.
Like you, I often forget things I meant to write about.
I do enough to be able to gloss over the large gaps between the action.
🙂 You have time for gaps between walking, cycling, cooking, gardening, photography and Zoom? You are indeed an inspiration.