About half of the collection consists of incoming correspondence from fellow authors and friends. This includes typed and handwritten letters, notes, postcards, printouts from email listservs, etc. Items sent with the letters, such as photographs, event flyers, and magazines, remain with the correspondence. Topics are mostly focused on requesting and soliciting submissions for literary magazines and other publications; fellow Beat authors, particularly centered around William S. Burroughs' death in 1997; the literary scene in the 1990s and mutual acquaintances; and other related matters. Some of the correspondence is addressed both to Charles and his wife Pam.

The rest of the collection largely consists of manuscript drafts, notes, jottings, and other materials from Plymell. This includes drafts of two larger works, including "The Smell of Lightning" and "Robbing the Pillars" (name changed to "Love Singing"), both of which show numerous handwritten changes and corrections from Plymell. There is also a notebook Plymell used, photocopies of photographs with identifications, and other miscellaneous materials Plymell annotated. There are several photocopies of articles about the Beat scene and about Charles Plymell's involvement with the Beat authors, as well as reviews, praise, and other discussion of Plymell's works.