Are your writing affairs in order?

It’s time we face facts. None of us are getting any younger.

When my mother, an Ancestry.com family history enthusiast, died unexpectedly years ago, she left behind boxes of print-outs of documents of various ancestors identifiable only by a a baffling colour-coding system known only to her. How all these names connected together went with her to the grave with the Ancestry.com password that may have helped us make some meaning out of all her research work.

You might not like to think about it, but it will help your loved ones to know what to do with your writing after you’re gone (and all your other stuff too!). There’s no one answer or easy option here but its worth having a think about what you do want and preparing accordingly.

At the very least, make sure someone else knows the password to your computer!

Option 1: Destroy it all

The late fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett left instructions for any unfinished novels and computer hard disks to be destroyed by a steamroller at his request. For this to happen, he left clear instructions to his executor on where to find his work, what to do with it, and even the type of steamroller he wished to be used for the job. His social media followers watched the whole process as it happened.

If you want all your work destroyed:

1. Find an executor you trust who will be legally obliged to follow your wishes. This may NOT be a family member who may have some sentimental attachment to you.

2. You’ll want electronic and paper files destroyed. This means leaving your executor the password to your computer and directions to the files and folders you wish to be deleted from your computer. You’ll also need to tell them where the paper files are kept too.

3. Alternatively, destroy it all yourself on a regular basis.

4. For diaries or journals, choose a method of destruction that is irreversible. Fire is good and will add dramatic flair to your funeral service.

Option 2: Keep Selected Works

Unless you’re a really despicable person (and none of you are, I know it), your writing will have sentimental value to someone, including members of the writers group. Any diaries or journals may contain private thoughts but they also hold your voice and your unique hand-writing. They contain insights into the person you are. Consider leaving at least some of them to a trusted family member.

I still have a recipe of my mother’s with her handwriting on it that now has great sentimental value to me.

For non-personal writing, organise your electronic files with your best work and those you are most proud of and tell your executor about them. Save them on a memory stick and leave it with your personal effects for your executor. If you’ve been working on a novel, you may wish to leave special instructions and notes on what to do with it, in case someone wishes to pick it up for you.

You may also want to consider printing out your favourite writing and binding them at Officeworks, or publishing them in a more formal capacity as a memento.

Option 3: Blow it up

Perhaps you’ve got things you want said after you’re dead. Depending on how vindictive you are, you can leave instructions for writing to be given to certain people, or even read out at your funeral.

There’s a guy in the Gold Coast who for $10,000 will reveal your secrets at funerals and gravesites. (That article is a trip!)