Having Way Too Many Unfinished Drafts? Yeah, Me Too!

Having Way Too Many Unfinished Drafts? Yeah, Me Too!

Why Can’t I Finish and Publish Them?!

Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash

Have you ever gone on a writing binge, pumping out draft after draft, feeling like the ideas were just flowing endlessly? Those bursts of creativity are amazing…until you look back a few weeks later and realize you have 15 half-written posts just sitting there, collecting digital dust.

That’s become my life lately. I’m drowning in unfinished drafts on Medium with titles like “The 5 Brutal Truths About Working From Home” and “Why Failing Is Actually a Good Thing.” At first, I feel really motivated to dig into each topic. But then life happens — work demands kick into overdrive, a family obligation pops up, or I get distracted by a random DIY project around the house (or Luna, my kitten, demands attention).

Photo by Alvan Nee on Unsplash

Before I know it, weeks have gone by without touching those drafts. They taunt me every time I open my Medium drafts, bursting with potential yet gathering cobwebs with each passing day.

It’s like my own personal torture chamber of unfinished business.

The most frustrating part? My best ideas always seem to strike at the worst possible moments. Like when I’m stuck in a dull meeting at work listening to my boss drone on about quarterly forecasting. My mind wanders and WHAM! I’m hit with a profound realization about the meaning of life or brilliant business strategy.

So what do I do?

Quickly scribble it down on a crumpled piece of paper to capture the magic before it’s gone, only to decipher my cryptic notes later like:

“Pursue: the road? life’s highway — deep!” and have no clue what prophetic insight I was channeling hours earlier… what the hell was I thinking?

Or I’ll be doing something really classy like sitting on the porcelain throne (and you know what I mean, I’m sure it has happened to you too!). Inspiration doesn’t care about proper decorum — it hits me like a muse’s lightning bolt right there in the bathroom. Do I risk clogging my pipes by utilizing the closest writing material (shudder)? Or do I quickly leave everything behind to go jot it down before the well runs dry?

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These terrible timed bursts of creativity are both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I’m immensely grateful for the endless flow of ideas. Having no inspiration as a writer is far worse than having too many concepts to capture.

On the other hand, there’s nothing more infuriating than coming up with something brilliant only to forget it instantly because the setting was so awkward, and writing it down wasn’t an option.

That’s how the next great American novel gets lost forever — something profound about the human experience conceived while sitting on the toilet.

So for now, I’ll keep cranking out those unfinished drafts and fragmented notes on random scraps of paper and my phone’s notes app. One day I’ll go back, revisit them, and turn that collection of a million miscellaneous ideas into a collection of iconic works of literary genius.

Or more likely, I’ll politely shuffle them into an obscure folder called “Writings to Forget” and keep plowing forward with fresh new bursts of inspired imagination striking me at all the wrong moments.

Because as agonizing as it is, that’s the writer’s life in a nutshell.

Ideas are our capital, no matter how inconvenient the timing of their delivery. Embrace the chaos and sort it out later. Rough gems are still gems, whether fully refined or not.

What about you guys — do you have piles of unfinished pieces and a tendency to be struck by genius at all the wrong times? Or is it just me living in this sublime torture? Share your experiences in the comments!

Thanks for reading!