Thread: Reading your old stories

The other day I printed off a first draft I wrote about 18 months ago and never went back to. I enjoyed reading it but mainly because of all the mistakes I had made, particularly regarding view point. I was in tears with laughter at some of the blatant symbols and some of the ways I said things. But I loved the story and the characters, and would love to re-write it but I kind of like it the way it is even though wouldn't send it anywhere.

Do you ever read your old stuff and enjoy it? Even if you don't let others read it, do you think it means a lot to you?

Last week I read a story I wrote around spring time this year. At the time it was a big leap forward in my writing; re-reading it I found some parts cringeworthy. The worst thing was I was so chuffed with it I entered it in one of the bigger national competitions.

I think I'm more aware now of what I'm writing and am learning more about characterisation and using dialogue. I think with time I'll go back to that one as it does have some parts that I'm still really pleased with.

It's always a lift to find an old piece that maybe you'd forgotten about it.

It's an equal lift to feel that sick pleasure when you see your bile wrenching errors.

Last year I found a folder with poems I'd written 15 years ago. Oh, sweet god, they were absolutely terrible. Even reading them alone, in the quiet of my office, i was actually embarrassed. I can remember being so proud of them when I wrote them. Oh, the horror! Still, I couldn't bring myself to burn them, I buried the folder back in the box. I'm sure I'll go through the same thing 15 years from now, when I stumble upon them again.

Do you ever read your old stuff and enjoy it? Even if you don't let others read it, do you think it means a lot to you?

I read my old stuff & it always means a lot. We cared enough to put it down, & even though we may not feel the same way about it it still has some value. Even if it was only exercising our writing chops.

Every once in a while I find something old that I like, and I get very excited. A lot of it is crap, but it's still fun to be able to read my own words without remembering them -- the closest I'll ever get to being an average reader of my own work. It's a fun feeling either way.

I love reading my old stuff. It usually seems pretty good, and it encourages me. I don't write as much anymore, and then I look back on my old stuff and think, "Whoa....I'm actually not bad at this." It entertains me, at least. Which it should, considering I wrote it. I do find some minor things to change, so I like to edit past work too. Gotta make it perfect!

Most of my older stuff makes me cringe. I actually wrote a whole novel before I had the faintest clue what I was doing. I reread that a few months ago (about four years since I last looked at it) and couldn't believe how terrible it was. My exact thought after reading just the first chapter was "Wow, no wonder nobody wanted to publish this." I don't think there's really anything salvageable about it, but I decided to keep it for its comedic merit.

I like my old stories and I'm mostly pleased with the writing. I've found that most of the early ones could use more depth, maybe more back-story and exposition, so I've gone back and added to them, without really changing all that much. Some of them were very heavy on dialog -- a strength of mine that I relied on too heavily. Once I flesh them out -- they're some of my favorites.

I've been working on the same novel for years now and sometimes I look back on older versions and cringe. It's kind of embarrassing I agree, but also great because you can see how far you've come.

Yeah, I enjoy forgetting about what I've written and rediscovering it. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised, but more often what I read is so bad it is almost too difficult to finish.

So I read one of my older writings and now I'm kind of sittin' on my chair awestruck. I mean I love the concept and plot line to my story but there were so many factors that lead to it's discontinuation.

1. Overly descriptive
2. Moved in a very fast pace
3. Many grammars
4. If I didn't write it myself, I would think the audience would be lost

Overall it was a fun read. I wrote it a few years back but honestly it had one of the best story and characters I created.


Regards,

Adrian

I think the timeline makes a big difference. If I had to read something I wrote 10 years ago, it would probably upset me too much to finish it- unless I'd forgotten it so much that I thought someone else wrote it, then I'd diss it. But reading something from a year or two ago... It's good in a way. There's some really awful stuff that makes me feel like I need to send out apologetic fruit baskets to the friends and family members I forced to read it- but there's some good parts as well.

I guess that's what learning is though, you start getting better at recognising the good stuff and knowing why its good, so you can do more of it instead of just vomiting words onto a page and hoping for the best. Learning is good

Originally Posted by BabaYaga

There's some really awful stuff that makes me feel like I need to send out apologetic fruit baskets to the friends and family members I forced to read it

Lol. "So sorry you had to read my writing! Here is some fruit."

When looking at my past writing, I notice how much my technique has improved, but as far as imagination and creativity, I feel that my younger self was much more impressive in that regard. I find it an interesting trade-off to ponder, and I'm left wondering what has been the cause of my creative decline. My best guess is it stems from writing for a certain type of reader, which is something I'm conscious of alot these days (will readers think this too far-fetched? too simplistic? too juvenile?), whereas before I would simply write for myself.

Maybe I should learn something from this. : P