the complaint of the chronic self-editor

[edenfalling]

Apparently some writers don't like to reread their old stories, since they either get bored (knowing everything that happens, and then some), or they wince at how (comparatively) awful they were X number of years ago.

I am... hmm... stuck-up enough, perhaps? Anyway, I like my writing well enough that I occasionally read my stories for entertainment -- though, granted, not for at least a month after I post them, so as to give myself time to recover from being thoroughly sick of editing them -- and I have yet to really wince at any major issues.

But I do find myself wanting to tweak some of the paragraph divisions. And the typos. Oh my god, the typos. It's like nails on a chalkboard every time I run into one, especially since I try so damn hard to root them out before I post anything.

I was just skimming over "Paint the Town" on ff.net, and there are two minor little typos (one switched word order -- 'he was' instead of 'was he' -- and one wrong word -- 'again' instead of 'against') that are going to itch at the back of my mind until I find some free time to go fix them.

Maybe I should stop rereading my stories. It just makes extra work for me.

------------------------------

In more productive news, I wrote another 200 words of "Locked Room Problems." Giles and Indiana Jones have flipped a coin to choose positions, and are now negotiating with the demonic fertility goddess over just what counts as sex, and how long they have to keep at it before she'll let them go.

...

I should probably stop paying attention to plot bunnies that come with sex scenes attached. I'm not very good at them, and they embarrass the hell out of me while I'm writing. That slows everything down.

Comments

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

In more productive news, I wrote another 200 words of "Locked Room Problems." Giles and Indiana Jones have flipped a coin to choose positions, and are now negotiating with the demonic fertility goddess over just what counts as sex, and how long they have to keep at it before she'll let them go.

THIS I want to read...:D

I actually wrote maybe 200-300 words this morning. Well, it might not have been that many, but it's more than I've written the past week. Apparently the only time the house is quiet enough for me to get any writing done is at 6:30 a.m., before I wake up the rest of my family. I guess I should make a habit of writing then. Too bad my story is due on Friday :( I'll never finish it by then.

[edenfalling]

"Locked Room Problems" is about 2/3 written. So it should be up sometime in October. :-)

Have faith in yourself! Last-minute panic concentrates the mind wonderfully.

[yuki-buffy.livejournal.com]

nah..you're not stuck up. i reread my fics too. even the early ones that occassionally make me wince. i usually read mine when i'm trying to work on the sequel (I have a gw story arc that i've been working on for years) and i want to make sure I remember everything.

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

ISt aht stuck up? ireread m yow nstories too. i'm probalb ymroe snobbish than oubecasue soem fothem actuall ahdme almsot interas .and some other old ones had me sorto f beaming with glee abot what I created.

I hate when I or someneelse catchs htose sutpid misspeled words that spellchekcer doesn't catch (then/than, weak/week to/too/two( I don't know what to call them..homophones?
Also, apparnelty I used to havea habibt of starting ltos of sentences with and. SOmeone pointedm e to it i none story adn now i'm rereading older stufi see it LOTS OF TIMES. adn also the elips... gah.
I'lljsu say i get very ucnomfortable when I hear someone gritheir teeth and rant and whine about whatthey just wrote.