Can’t Write? Can’t Create? Now’s the Time for Harvesting Evergreens
The cure for writer’s block is already on your computer
Some days the muse doesn’t come when I call — even if I stand on the proverbial porch and shout its full name.
At times like these, to get a creative jump start and to give myself the satisfaction of feeling productive, I like to spend some time focusing on evergreens.
“Evergreen” refers to something that is finished. It’s done. It’s ready to show and ready to go.
Not all evergreens have the same origin story. Some are like the neighbor’s kid: living free of charge in the basement without ever venturing out into the real world. Others were once in the query trenches, but came home for some R & R (Revision and Reflection). Either way: just because a piece hasn’t found a publishing home yet doesn’t mean it never will.
I have yet to meet a writer who does not have a hard drive full of evergreens — completed pieces they love, but that no one else knows about.
If your muse has taken a leave of absence and left behind a Writer’s Block of epic proportions, consider dusting off your finished files, searching for evergreens.
Qualities of a good evergreen
Look for work that still shines, no matter how much time has passed since you first created it.
The poems in which you experimented with form and wordplay. The short story you wrote after a break-up. That article about the local amateur scientist who sequenced wooly mammoth DNA and was hard at work on cloning. The YA book about WWI and the Spanish Flu. Those essays on living with loss.
Is the piece timely?
Is it interesting?
Is it still relevant?
Do you still love it?
If so, that’s an evergreen project worth harvesting.
A caveat: not every finished piece is an ideal candidate. As a rule of thumb, ignore derivative and dated work. Also — no matter how good something may be — if it no longer represents who you are or if it stands in opposition to how you have grown since writing it, leave it where it lies.
Reap the rewards
Revisiting your finished projects can benefit you in several ways:
- It can give you a break from actually “writing” without the feeling that you are procrastinating or not doing anything to further your career.
- It provides an opportunity to do a quick edit on a project you haven’t seen in a while. You can analyze the work with fresh eyes. Applying whatever new crafting techniques you have learned in the interim can strengthen it and improve your chances of finding a place for it.
- It doesn’t take long to prepare an evergreen for submission. New markets may have opened up since your last search. Query and submit the piece to markets that are a good match or to relevant contests (“Helloooooo, Submittable, my old friend!”). Perhaps you have a project whose time has finally come.
- If your evergreen is a book-length work, take comfort in the huge turnover at agencies and publishing houses. Spend some time re-researching agents, managers, or publishers who handle properties similar to yours. It is entirely possible that the names have changed since you last went through the submission process. In all likelihood, the market has changed considerably. It is also possible that your credentials have improved since the last time you shopped the piece around. Send out updated queries.
The point is, get it out there.
A few hours working on your evergreens can result in a stack of new submissions. Any one of them could be the break you need. But you’ll never know unless you get your work seen.
When the flurry of submitting things is over, I often find it easier to return to the creative side of things. The knowledge that I’ve done my part with polished pieces can be a great motivator to dive into something new.
Quite possibly, the best part of evergreen harvesting is the inevitable bonus that results. Sifting through old files almost always ignites a creative spark or re-kindles a passion for an old project, inspiring the desire to expand upon previous work. Either way, the writer’s stumbling block disappears.
