Friday, June 29, 2012

Time Writing Capsule

In movies I’ve seen characters bury something when they were young and then when someone passes or they gradually age (as we do with time) they remember this little box buried somewhere safe and find it to see what they kept from the past.

Listening to the song 20 Years by Civil Wars got me thinking about what my writing would be like twenty years from now.

They lyrics are amazingly simple (and poetic)…

There’s a note underneath your front door
That I wrote twenty years ago
Yellow paper and a faded picture
And a secret in an envelope

There’s no reasons, no excuses
There’s no secondhand alibis
Just some black ink and some blue lines
And a shadow you won’t recognize

In the meantime, I’ll be waiting
For twenty years and twenty more
I’ll be praying for redemption
And your note underneath my door
And your note underneath my door

Seriously The Civil Wars are amazing. Here’s the videolink. It’s a must listen.

They gave me the idea to take writing into my own hands. I’ve selected a piece of my handwritten writing and have decided to place it in a box and somewhere safe so twenty years from now I can see where I came from.

Consider it my own writing capsule. I’m looking forward to seeing the yellow paper, black ink, and faded blue lines. I’ve also placed a picture inside as well… might as well see how much my hair has changed at that time.

Ever thought about it? You should do it! And if you have, how rewarding does it feel when you realize how far you’ve come?

11 comments:

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Ooh, those lyrics are quite touching. I have to check this group out.

I honestly haven't given much thought about my current work in twenty years. It's a great subject to ponder, though. Guess what I'll be doing the rest of the day? ;D

Have a great weekend!!

Gail said...

Do love these lyrics.

Liesel K. Hill said...

What a cool idea! I haven't heard much by this band, but what I have heard I've really liked. I'll check this song out. Thanks for sharing it! :D

Meredith said...

Ah, I love The Civil Wars! Their voices and their songs are so incredible. And the idea of a writing capsule is awesome! Twenty years from now, I hope to look back on my writing and see that I've improved exponentially.

Kristin Rae said...

I LOVE The Civil Wars. I've been a Joy Williams fan since I was in high school, but I'm very happy with the new direction she's gone with this duo. And that's one of my favorite songs of theirs. A writing time capsule is a great idea. I recently cleaned out a closet and found stuff I wrote just 5 years ago and it's amazing how much I've grown.

Johanna Garth said...

Those are beautiful lyrics. I found some writing from when I was fifteen last time I visited my parents. A little cringeworthy, a little sweet, a little teeny spark of talent.

Angela Brown said...

I haven't thought of doing a "writing" time capsule before. It would be very interesting to check out it out twenty years from now to see how things changed, writingwise, for oneself.

Maurice Mitchell said...

Jen I never heard of this song before. Thanks for sharing

Unknown said...

Love the words to that song. I'm going to check out the group. Also, I love your idea about the capsule. I hope I improve in 20 years.

Leslie S. Rose said...

Cool lyrics. Cool idea. I have a box of all the writing I did in high school. It's probably time to give it a peek.

Nicole said...

Nah, I haven't thought about a writing capsule before. I did, however, consider time capsules at one time or another but they were mostly photo based and I never really did them. I did try to tackle the 365 days photo project twice and failed to complete it each time after getting behind for several days. That Civil Wars song seems nice and very thought-provoking.

I'd like to think that we all (well, writers in particular) already have created time capsules in a way...every year that has past is a year that shows us how we used to write. So, twenty years from wherever you are in the current day, you can look back at your old blog posts, letters to friends or WIP drafts, finished novels, etc. and see how your writing has changed (if any) or evolved over time.