As always, the font of solace we experience is guided by author volunteers from the IWSG. This month we owe our thank you clicks and comments to J Lenni Dorner, Victoria Marie Lees, and Sandra Cox!
And the question for February 4, 2026 is Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you reread any of your early works? What was that experience like for you?
You totally thought I was going for the angst and anxiety response, all about catching my super dumb newbie writer grammar mistakes and wincing at every clumsy sentence, didn’t you? Well, JOKE’S ON YOU for pre-assuming, if that’s the case. SE doesn’t do angst. Not in my reading, not in my writing, and not in my self-reflection.
My (definitely organized, sane, and very relaxing, yep, yes indeed) creative process goes something like; a “what if?” or daydream grabs onto my subconscious very, very hard. It takes over and I jump into writing it with both feet. I write and edit as I write. [YES, I know this is not the approved method but this is my method and it does work for me. Kind of like backing up to get a good run at an icy hill.] Through blood, sweat, and literal tears the story is written. Later when the story has had time to rest and someone qualified has attacked with with their Axe of Editing I start to see the flaws inherent. And I fix the flaws inherent. Then I push that thing out into the world.
After all of this fun chaos and the absolute tornado which is editing, once the publish button has been pushed, my attitude about it becomes a lot more . . . hands-off. The book is out there. This gift has been given. Once it’s in reader’s hands (or eyeballs, I suppose would be more accurate) it’s not mine to edit or tweak or mess with any longer. It belongs to the reader now. In a very real way, the story isn’t mine anymore.
After a few years I do re-read my work. First of all, it’s AMAZINGLY good fun to click on the cover of an e-book that has my name on it. Such a cool feeling. I can’t really turn off that critical inner editor while I read my old works, but it’s alright. I still love the story. After all, I did spend days, even weeks and months living inside of it when I wrote it and it kept my interest that entire time. A re-read means I can be interested all over again. I cackled over every joke as it came to me, and they all still make me smile. The emotional moments I labored over still hit just right. I like to look back on my smol writer mistakes (pacing!) and enjoy the fact that I have grown. I have more skill now, and it makes me proud to see the evidence right in front of me. The experience of re-reading my old work is actually, and I mean this honestly, a good one.
10 comments
That’s awesome that you have joyful reactions to your previous work.
“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore.” — Neil Gaiman
J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) @JLenniDorner ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge international blog hop
It really is a joy. Thanks for stopping by on your hop!
I also enjoy rereading what I wrote. My inner editor won’t shut up, but I can still enjoy the experience and appreciate the finished evidence of my own creativity.
It does make for good evidence!
The evidence of your writer growth – that is a great way to look at it.
I feel like it’s the healthiest way to look at it, so that’s what I do!
I would have a hard time turning off my editor hat too. But looking at covers would be fun.
SO much fun!
Not being allowed to Like, but count me in.
No angst ? Great… I’m giving up angst, grief and misery too – just switching on the news is bad enough…
The YA archaeology adventure I wrote at 18,then lost for about fourteen years made it to Australia, as a proof copy – published by one of the Five, . My only agent’s death might explain what happened next, but re-reading now is fascinating. 15, 16, and not a phone in sight, even a little old Nokia ? Historical fiction, almost.
Currently revising and planning to relaunch crime fiction and my IT department has banned excessive revision, just an additional first chapter.
Good luck with your relaunch! May it go well. The YA archaeology story sounds like a lot of fun. Nostalgia for those simpler, no-phone times? Sign me up.
And it does sound simplistic, but just refusing to entertain the idea of angst or misery really does work. With my mental health issues, I have to draw a hard line at the edge of that quagmire and refuse to step over, or quickly find myself drowning in a very dark place. Yes, therapy and sunshine and all the hard work and the dratted exercise. But my mental state depends on me to maintain it, as well. Thus, I just tell myself that I don’t DO angst and for the most part, I listen.