Of Writing and Emails, many of which I send to myself

Let me tell you a secret: my writing process always involves emails. Lots of them. All sent by myself, to myself.

Back in the day, when the internet was still a baby, they’d tell you that the simplest way to copyright a thing you made was to mail the original copy back to yourself, and never, ever open it until it’s about to be used. Well, I’m old school, but I do it the modern way.

I write a draft, I email it to myself. I revise, I email it to myself. Any slight change, I make sure I email it back. Feels like so much work, yes? And maybe unnecessary storage. But hear me out. As a person who has great FOMO on both moving forward and looking back, I wanted to hold on to my work until I reach the end.

(Besides, it makes great proof should anyone accuse me of stealing ideas/words)

Some stuff that I think are important:First drafts! They always get a bad rap, I know. But to me, they’re the heart and soul of my story, no matter how sloppy they are. I always preserve my first draft and leave it as is, just in case I get lost during revision, so I can find my way back to the very core of my story. Major revisions! I always indicate a list of my edits in the body of my email, just to remind me what’s there, and what’s not. Very important, just in case I want to transition back to my previous work.Name change. Most of the time, I use placeholder names for my MCs. And being fickle, I’d probably also change other names, along the way, including places. To me, it’s important to take note of these edits, just in case I get confused as I write further along.

All in all, having all these files in one place gives me less anxiety (Word crashing, files disappearing in the cloud, sudden changes in Google Docs, etc). I also love the feeling of ending each writing session with a cheerful note to myself, like a gentle pat on the shoulder, saying, “Well done. There’s next session to fix things up.”

Guess how many emails I sent to myself for Marikit and the Ocean of Stars? (Have a number in your mind? Alright, get ready to highlight the next line).

322.

For The Boy, the Mountain, and the Serpent Who Ate the Moon?

404.

Call me a serial self-emailer, and I won’t feel any shame. If you’re thinking of adding this step to your writing process, I’d love to know whether it helped—or not!