Writer's Fallout Shelter

First thing- you're not the first person (or the last) to have to go thru the keep or throw dilema so try and put the guilt on the back burner. While writing is a very personal craft it is already filled with enough hurdles without adding guilt to the mix.

Second thing - every word you write is a stepping stone to a completed piece. Sometimes it takes going in the wrong direction to realize you have done just that- gone in the wrong direction. You learn from your mistakes.

I can definitely relate to your situation.I have a full time job and find that I can crank out a hundred to a hundred fifty pages on a three day weekend. But come Tuesday nght when I go to reread my masterpiece in the making, I have a tendency to say things like "where were you going with that thought" or "where did she come from" and of course "this is pure crap!". 20 years ago I used to throw it all away during the re-read but now I don't. I set it aside for usually two weeks, then look at it from the editors eyes and try and figure out where I took the wrong fork in the road. If you're like me and have a very detailed summary that you try and stick to during your writing maybe that is where you should be looking. I have found, upon reexamination, that my idea had merit and when I jotted down the summary I had a clear cut idea of which roads to take when, but as I was writing I missed an exit here and there or went left when I should have gone right and now I have a completely different book then what I started out planning to write.

Now that I've said all that I have to admit this. My husband bought me a flash drive last September and I find that when I get to a point in a novel where I have completely lost the drive I initially had I dump everything on the flash drive. I write a note to myself as to what I was thinking, what I think went wrong and what might be done to resurrect it. It's a 2 gig flash and right now it holds a number of incomplete pieces that will be reviewed this summer. Maybe instead of throwing your novel you might want to invest in a flash drive. Let it simmer for a few months and maybe you'll find the summer sunshine and fresh air might breathe life back into your story.

Keep writing!