Has anyone else ever stumbled upon their old writing, and simultaneously died a little inside while also somehow gaining confidence in their work?
Because while going through my much-neglected emails, I stumbled upon some documents I sent to myself years ago, and some of my old stories were there. Naturally, I made the horrible mistake of reading them and Oh. My. God.
They were dreadful.
Okay, some of them were better than others, but these were all from pretty much the start of my present writing journey, some over seven years old, back when I didn't know what a plot was and couldn't keep characters consistent to save myself.
I tell you what, though. If you ever lack confidence in your writing, go and read your old work. Major confidence boost. My goodness. There were stories there that physically hurt me, when I tried to read them. Emphasis on tried. I had to stop to save my own sanity. These are stories that will never be seen by eyes other than my own, and even that feels like way too many eyes.
But, as disheartened as I sometimes feel about my current writing, I can now confirm that I have, in fact, improved, and it makes me very happy to know I'm producing work of a noticeably better quality than I used to.
It's also a bit funny. I was recently thinking back to the idea behind Legacy and where it came from. Aside from a few inspirational images and songs, I couldn't quite remember where I originally got the idea. But in reading through all my old stories, I made the revelation that I've been building towards this for years now, especially where the characters are concerned. I can see pieces of Legacy, of Colt and Aderyn, of the Silver Scorpion, and the team dynamics, growing within my writing, never quite making it, but slowly adding another piece to the puzzle I didn't know I was trying to solve. Insightful stuff!
I'd love to hear if anyone else has found their old writing, and what you thought of it??
Happy reading and writing everyone!
- Eagle