When you work so hard to get a string of words on the page, the worst thing that can happen to a writer
is to see this string of diamonds disappear in a flash, the function of hitting the delete key by mistake.
In the early days of the computer, this key was always fatal…the word-killer. Certainly, the programmer who first thought of the Undo key should have earned a bonus big enough to retire on the spot. 
Eventually, we writers are conditioned by editors to see our precious words cut and discarded. We learn not to faint when the red pencil takes out an entire page. And if the entire chapter is ripped out of the manuscript, we know we can sneak it out of the pile on the floor and file it back in our cabinet as a keepsake.
Delete key–it’s the key of humility. It’s where a writer takes away something of himself. We start by deleting little words here and there, even though they were our favorite adjectives. Editors show us what to delete..and why. Eventually, we come to accept it as a process by which we can increase our value in the eyes of others. They like our stories better. They give us more praise.
We may feel a sense of accomplishment when we are able to delete whole paragraphs and not save them in folder labeled “deletes for future stories.” When we can actually wipe the paragraphs off the face of the earth forever and feel the world is somewhat improved…that’s when we know we’re actually getting somewhere.
I yearn for the day when I can “delete” the desire to write the paragraph in the first place. Because that might signal there’s hope for this selfish, egotistical, mean and spiteful person–not to have to write it down at all. And if I go without writing it down, maybe one day I’ll be the kind of person who “deletes” the thought itself.
Maybe one day, by the grace of God, I’ll accept His thoughts as all sufficient. And maybe…then…I’ll pay closer attention to what He’s trying to tell me and give up my own thoughts to become a single act of mercy and grace through which God can speak for Himself.
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THE WRITER’S LIFE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
For a completely immature view of delete…Delete
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