WEBVTT - Second Cup: Keep your Legos

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to keep great pieces of work you produce,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you don't end up using the work in

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<v Speaker 1>the way you thought you would. What's on the cutting

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<v Speaker 1>room floor today might be just what you want in

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<v Speaker 1>the future. Today's tip, like another this week, comes from

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<v Speaker 1>my interview with Mary Laura Philpott for my other podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>Best of Both Worlds. Mary Laura is a writer best

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<v Speaker 1>known for her memoirs I Miss You When I Blink

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<v Speaker 1>and Bomb Shelter. In our conversation about her writing and

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<v Speaker 1>editing process, Mary Laura told me that she saves everything

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<v Speaker 1>she writes. Rather than saving one draft over the next,

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<v Speaker 1>she are past drafts. That way, if she decides that

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<v Speaker 1>she likes how she structured a narrative better in an

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<v Speaker 1>earlier draft than the latest draft, she can easily restore

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<v Speaker 1>the earlier text to her piece. By archiving, she gets

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<v Speaker 1>over the fear that she'll cut something she wishes she hadn't.

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<v Speaker 1>This allows her to edit boldly as she puts it.

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<v Speaker 1>She explained, I never want to be shy about edits

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<v Speaker 1>because I'm worried I can't get something back. This is

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<v Speaker 1>such a smart strategy. In addition to keeping old drafts intact,

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<v Speaker 1>Mary Laura also has a document titled Legos, where she

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<v Speaker 1>saves bits of texts that she loves but doesn't end

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<v Speaker 1>up using right away. She explains that perhaps in the

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<v Speaker 1>future she will build something else with a text that's cut,

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<v Speaker 1>just like you would with old legos. With writing, you

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<v Speaker 1>can easily see how this could work. A phrase that

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<v Speaker 1>you cut from one essay may become the seed from

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<v Speaker 1>which a poem grows. A description of a landscape that

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<v Speaker 1>you cut from a travel essay may spark an idea

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<v Speaker 1>for a mystery set in that place. My time management

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<v Speaker 1>fable Juliette's School of Possibilities sprang from a few scenes

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<v Speaker 1>in a much longer novel I wrote once and then

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<v Speaker 1>mostly abandoned. On a more mundane level, the first draft

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<v Speaker 1>of your bio may hit the wrong tone for your

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<v Speaker 1>high school reunion blurb, but it could be just right

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<v Speaker 1>for the website of a nonprofit where you serve on

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<v Speaker 1>the board. Having a Legos file for future building is

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<v Speaker 1>relevant for fields besides writing, too. A lesson plan that

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<v Speaker 1>you decide isn't the way you want to approach teaching

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<v Speaker 1>your class this week could be perfect for your students

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<v Speaker 1>next year. A layout for a living room that your

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<v Speaker 1>client thinks she doesn't want might be the one she

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<v Speaker 1>comes back to after exploring other arrangements. Or maybe the

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<v Speaker 1>design will spark your thinking about how to arrange a

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<v Speaker 1>different space for another client in the future. Longtime listeners

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<v Speaker 1>know how much I love Legos, which adds to my

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<v Speaker 1>enthusiasm about Mary Laura's tip. But if Legos aren't the

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<v Speaker 1>metaphor for you, call your repository something different. Building blocks,

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<v Speaker 1>lost and found, loose diamonds, or just outtakes whatever works

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<v Speaker 1>for you. But do create such a repository. If your

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<v Speaker 1>work involves generating ideas and possibilities, keep all your good work,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you don't think a given bit is right

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<v Speaker 1>for the task at hand. If it's a good idea,

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<v Speaker 1>you just might find the perfect home for it in

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<v Speaker 1>the future. You can build an amazing Lego creation with

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<v Speaker 1>the cast offs from a set that started as something else.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You

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<v Speaker 1>can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts.

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<v Speaker 1>At iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.