What lurks in the basement

by Dana

One of my favorite books about writing is the one by Stephen King, On Writing:  A Memoir of the Craft.  The cover is also one of my favorites:  a close-up of the exterior of a nice-looking suburban house, with a bulkhead that looks subtly overbuilt and grubby.  It takes a while to understand that the bulkhead will lead you to the basement, which is probably not as nice as the exterior of the house.

We all have to go into the dark places to write, is what eventually sinks in.  It's very Stephen King, that cover:  the horror that lurks behind a pleasant facade, the horror that takes a moment to reveal itself. 

Recently, in the wake of a Very Unpleasant Plumbing Situation, we had professionals in to help make  sure we never have one of those VUPS again.  Mr. G and I had to clear out our basement.  The work was hot and dirty.  It wasn't exactly twenty years of accumulation, but almost.  I thought it was going to be mostly tax records and the like, but I'd forgotten just how many of the boxes held my old papers.  (To give you an idea of the scale of the project:  I'm recycling seventeen boxes of stuff).

My trepidation grew as we progressed.  I was delving into twenty years of a professional life before I started writing fiction, doing an archaeology of myself.  Not that any of the things I found were scary or bad--far from it.  It was just strange to see this snapshot of myself from 10-20 years ago.  There was so much I now don't remember doing, which had been so important to me then. 

There were loads of conference papers (I'd forgotten how many); drafts of professional writing projects (I'd forgotten how many); copies of theses and dissertations I'd read (I'd forgotten how many); research notes and old lectures (I'd forgotten how many).  Weird, to see my neat handwriting, when now it's a scrawl.  Weird to see so early drafts of Site Unseen* tucked in amongst the academic papers.  No hint of the Fangborn or my covert op, a/k/a Jayne.  Whispers, perhaps, of Anna Hoyt. 

There was a bit of personal life, too, a snapshot of the mid-1980s in the form of three boxes of comic books that were hidden last time we did a comic cull.  What still works for me:  Lone Wolf and Cub, Tank Girl, She-Hulk, Wolverine (limited series).  What disappointed on revisiting:  Halo Jones, Ninja High School.  Interesting to see what young Mr. G was collecting when he was very young; interesting to see what I demand in a comic/graphic novel now. 

Here are some of the things I learned:

Wear disposable gloves when handling documents and files.  No, it's not to protect the documents (in this case), but to protect your hands.  Your hands will be sweaty, but they won't be sweaty AND dirty and covered in paper cuts.

Bring the trash bags, markers, box-cutters, paper towels, cleaning materials, etc., and lots of cold water with you before you get started, so you don't have to run up and down stairs and track dirt.

Why it's hard to discard old papers.  They're neat, they're clearly labeled and filed, and it took a hell of a lot of work to collect or create them all in the first place.  What I figured out was that either the notes led to a work that is available elsewhere, or scholarship should have seriously advanced by now.  Shred and recycle.

Here's the thing:  yes, by "going into the basement," you dig out what is personal and emotional, what other people might respond to in your writing.  You get a good view of your foundations, too.

So, writers:  What have you found from your past that influenced your work?  Readers, what is your favorite cleaning tip or...horror story? 

*A new Emma Fielding story, “Mischief in Mesopotamia,” will appear in EQMM's November issue!

Comments

[Marcia Talley]

Dana, I had to laugh because I've just spent a month clearing out our basement. With my mother-in-law's death, we inherited THREE housefuls of furniture and family papers, the remains of which (after distribution to children, etc.) were seemingly multiplying down there after I turned out the lights. In addition to the "foul matter" from every book I've had published, I found a red rope folder of all my college papers, one entirely in French (La Vie de Stendhal dans ses Oeuvres). Whoa! I used to be fluent!! After a neighborhood garage sale (the proceeds of which paid for my new iPad) we called College Hunks Hauling Junk who were precisely as advertised. All gone now! What did amaze me were old letters, evidence from the mid 70s that I was talking about it, dreaming of being a mystery author one day, way earlier than I now remember.

Hold on to those comix, by the way ... they could be valuable!

[Karen in Ohio]

Oh, dear, that is a job, isn't it? I did it several years ago, after also cleaning out my in-laws' home of nearly 70 years. I decided not to do that same thing to my own children.

My best tip: as long as you're shredding all those documents, anyway, use the shredded paper to mulch your garden. It makes one of the best mulches I've ever used. Shades the soil, and allows water to penetrate but doesn't let weeds grow. And when it starts breaking down it encourages earthworms, which is also good for the soil.

[Dana]

Marcia, I found a slew of assignments from my Japanese language classes; I can't even read a menu, now! Love that you rediscovered the roots of your passion for mystery writing in your letters! We're selling the comics, btw, using the Overstreet guide; it's adding up, quickly.

Karen, what a great tip! I never would have thought of it, but it makes perfect sense. Thank you!

[krisneri]

Due to soil conditions or seismic activity, I've never had a basement, and I've always envied those of you who do. Dana, you've confirmed my belief that you can avoid the stuff in basements longer than what's in a garage or a closet in the house because you have to face them more often. Still, we went through years of things when we moved from CA to AZ. It really is like tracing a road map to forgotten parts of your life. I would add that it's good to make a "second look" pile with some things. I question some of what I kept, and wish I'd reconsidered some of what I gave away or sold.

[Joan]

What's down in my basement? A nightmare. I culled it once in 1997 when it flooded, but haven't since. I actually went down there recently and found a news article I had written as a reporter in college. I've been out of college 28 years. Thanks for the cleaning tips. I know I'll use them when I screw up my courage to go down there again.

[Sheila Connolly]

My basement is too damp for paper storage, so all that stuff is in the (hot, dirty, stuffy) attic. I've actually been pretty good about culling my old papers, but where I get stuck is my grandmother's papers. Yes, I have all of her diaries, checkbooks and financial records for the last few decades of her life (she died at 94). I delude myself that I'm planning to write a biography of her, based upon the checks she wrote to Tiffany's, Saks Fifth Avenue, et cetera. (The reality? I can't bear to part with them.)

[Dana]

Kris, the "second look pile" was part of what we did the last time we cleaned. Some of the stuff was worth hanging on to!

Joan, I bet you'll find lots of surprises when you go to clean--it's just like a time capsule!

Sheila,what a trove! That would be a fascinating project!

[Toni L.P. Kelner]

I'm rotten at big culls--can't make myself do them very often. So I try to do mini daily culls. As in five items a day. (Today one will be this shirt I'm wearing--what was I thinking at the store five years ago?)

My mantra is, "If we were moving out of state tomorrow, which of this would I bother to pack?" If I wouldn't take it to a new home, I don't need it in my old home.

We always have a pile gathering in the front hall, and when we get enough, I call one of the charities to come pick it all up.

[Dana]

Toni, that's good advice! I love that various organizations make it so easy to find a new home for stuff!