31 Comments

I'm reminded of recent newsletters by poet Maggie Smith, where she reports that she keeps all the drafts of everything just in case she wants to go back and capture something that got edited out but that held an image or turn of phrase that she wants back for some reason. When she wants to begin a new draft again she saves a new copy and leaves the old one for future reference. Though I understand the urge to burn things, I find some gentleness and compassion in her tactic. Some belief, by extension, that earlier parts of ourselves may have hit on something that we'd do well to go back and retrieve later.

I've never read Dickens, I'll confess. But I enjoyed this all the same.

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We need more “skilled conductors of human harmony”

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We do indeed!

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I’m not letting myself read Demon Copperhead (I love Barbara Kingsolver!!) until I finish David Copperfield. I’m only a quarter of the way though, Mr. Dick and Ms. Trotwood are my favs so far :)

Your Substack has me excited to keep reading!

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Thank for your comments and for being here, Jenna. And enjoy both DCs!

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Will do! You and my TBR pile have a lot in common :)

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Oh, Mr. Dick, such a compassionate man but in a quiet and almost imperceptible way! I remember him. I must delve into Dickens again, and David Copperfield is possibly my favourite. I might load up my Kindle, too, with those I don't have in hard copy (currently loaded up with Dostoyevsky). For some reason, owning a Kindle is encouraging me to re-read classics. I wonder if our politicians should send their speeches up on a kite - but then, it would likely plummet to the ground with the weight of its own pretensions. I think Gogol burned some of his manuscripts, although his friends begged him not to?

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Thank you for your comments and for being here, Emma! I find that it's a lot easier for me to read larger works on my Kindle for some reason, including the classics.

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Yes, it's the same for me! I am enjoying it. Thanks for your kind comments, too!

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Thank you so much for this. I had forgotten about Mr Dick and the Strongs, preferring in my memory to see him either with his kite or troubled over the old King. I haven't read David Copperfield for years but this post reminded me of that narrative voice which has such fondness and understanding of his earlier life with its sadness and mistakes. Your notion of the sky-bound writings being akin to the WWW brought a smile to my face. I have been working on earlier pieces from a former blog too and your advice to rewrite them from scratch rather than edit is very sound. A bit like you, I find them, in a word, unimpressive and I recognise the reasons you state. This is a lovely post. :-)

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This was great, Jeffrey.

I really appreciated, (and needed to hear!) the bit about completely rewriting a draft instead of trying edit the doc! Such good advice.

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Fantastic!

I’ve had that same experience, Jeffrey, of going back to not terribly old writing and thinking, meh, and realizing it’s the quality of writing--and I believe also engaging--of writers and the community here that’s enabling me to up my game, as it were.

Thanks for sharing these thoughts and Dickens as well. ❤️

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The essay works brilliantly, Jeffrey, both as an exploration of _David Copperfield_ and of the writing process. As a writer of both fiction and memoir, the latter as you know because you are a close and valued reader, I find what you say here both insightful and you give me some pause. I do think my memoir may be a process of healing and an attempt to find my "better self." But, as you say about yourself, who am I to know for sure?

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Thank you, Mary! Your comments always give me pause for thought, in turn! Iin addition to what yuo say here, your memoir is a beautiful homage to the life you have lived and the people you have been. That's what makes it so rich and rewarding to read.

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That last paragraph is exquisitely written.

I’ve never been a big fan of Dickens. I spent entirely too much time in Victorian England in my undergrad, and have little desire to revisit it, after parsing so many polite exchanges and societal criticisms, often in one sentence. Perhaps I shall give David Copperfield a try.

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Thank you, Rona. I love how you use the image of the kite on the wind in your comment. Your perepective lifts me, in turn. Thank you for being here. And if you read the novel again, let me know how it seems this time around.

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Thank you for your kind words, June, and thanks for being here. I think fondness and understanding are good ways of describing the narrative voice in the novel. It's a very compassionate piece of writing.

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Yes, some of them are almost addictive, aren't they?

Thank you for being here!

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Thank you, Donna! And thaks for being here. ONce I'd got past the intial shck of realisation, it was/is a very positive experience to know I need to writer better. Learning from one's own failings is powerful, isn't it?

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Thank you Michael and thank you for being here. It's great advice from Summer Brennan, isn't it? I'll be trying to make more use of it.

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Thank you Troy, for your kind words. I hope you enjoy the book. I think it's a delight.

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Thanks for the kind words and for being here, Holly! And I agree with you about engaging.

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