Notes

What does a writer do when they finish writing?  Do the index cards get put away, the blackboards get wiped down and the notes get stored?  What happens to the mess on the desk with handscribbled notes of reminders of things to put into the story?  Do they become something like the photographs that were taken before the one you kept and the rest gets shoved into a box and stored away?
I'm not sure.  But this morning I took a quick look at the remnants of what I had left after finishing my first draft. 
I was surprised at the amount of notes I had.  My thoughts as I opened my binders and scanned the papers were that it shouldn't have taken so long.  Maybe if I hadn't spent so much time writing myself notes and writing the story instead it would have been finished sooner.  I keep trying to go backwards.  I'm hoping it's in the spirit of trying to find what I might learn from what I've already done and go on from there.  To look back briefly (key word) to see where I need to go next.

I still haven't and not sure I want to read the entire draft yet.  I know I shouldn't say anything negative but I'm thinking if I don't read it I won't have to admit how bad it really is.  Or whether or not it's even worth continuing to work on.  But then I will need to get over that.  I'll have to face it sooner or later.  So for now I'll close up the binders and put away the notes.
What a lot of notes.
TT