cat_77: Picture of Ghost with booze (cat)
cat_77 ([personal profile] cat_77) wrote2009-05-25 09:44 pm
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Questioning...

Have you ever written something, posted it, and rather liked it at the time only to look at it again a year or two down the road and said, "Er, not-so-much..."?

I've got a fic that I was happy with at the time, but not so sure about any more. Looking at it, overall it's not completely awful. Some parts still work, but some truly do not.

So the question is, knowing I would probably never get around to re-writing the parts that don't work, do I keep it up, or pull it from the web?

Also, if I pull it, do I make an announcement about it, or just kind of sneak it away? Is it fair to the beta that took the time and effort to go through it and work out the kinks at the time?

Or, do I bite the bullet and force myself to fix it into something I'm happy with, only to look at it again in another year or so and go through this all over again?

Thoughts?

[identity profile] donutsweeper.livejournal.com 2009-05-26 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
Recently I went through all my old stories to make up links that listed them all by fandom. I really debated about my earlier things, they rather *lacked* in my opinion now, but what to do? Fix them? Erase them? Leave them as is?

I finally decided to do some minor punctuation edits (I hadn't been working with a beta then) and a few little things like that and left them up. In a way, it shows how much I've grown as an author since then.

[identity profile] alessiana.livejournal.com 2009-05-26 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
If I were really unhappy, I would repost a fixed version. But at some point you have to move on and let it be your early work. It's a good thing to show progression. Most authors wish they could take things back and many do with new editions. So do what feels right.

.

[identity profile] cat-77.livejournal.com 2009-05-26 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not sure if it's unhappy as much as embarrassment, if that makes sense. Which, actually, is related to unhappy, so...

For one fic in particular, I'm leaning towards finding a way to fix it, or hiding it all together. For a different one that's a bit... odd, I'm thinking of leaving it as it was an experiment in a different style of writing. It didn't quite work out, but hey, I tried it.

[identity profile] cat-77.livejournal.com 2009-05-26 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
I did that for the fandoms I'm no longer really active in, but this is one I still randomly write for. It does show growth, but at the same time, it also plays into my major embarrassment squick of, "OMG, I wrote that?"

Seriously, there's one part of one in particular that I would expect to see on [livejournal.com profile] fanficrants for how bad it is. *g*

Maybe see if I can think of a way to fix that part? If I find the time?

[identity profile] donutsweeper.livejournal.com 2009-05-26 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
Well, another thing to consider is what is the likelihood someone will stumble on that particular story?

[identity profile] cat-77.livejournal.com 2009-05-26 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
See, I was thinking about that as well. Then I checked my stats page and saw how many hits it got just recently. Either people don't mind what I see as a glaring error, or they are reading up to that point and back-buttoning out of there. I think it's one of those things that bugs you more than it bugs anyone else (if at all).

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2009-05-26 06:53 am (UTC)(link)
There's this writer. He wrote this book called Brave New World. He says in his foreword, decades later, that he feels his image of this world was far more naive than what he would write now. He's tempted to rewrite it. The story sets his teeth on edge now. But, as it was true for him at the time, he's decided to spend his efforts on writing new works instead. He says, (more or less), "In rewriting what doesn't work I may end up destroying what does."

I've taken that advice for myself. There are many, many, many stories of mine that I would rewrite if given half a chance (starting with Primer to the Dark Arts (http://www.icarus.slashcity.net/stories/primer_onefile.html)).

*tips hat*

[identity profile] alessiana.livejournal.com 2009-05-27 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
That is a great answer.

I've done that with some poems. I can't fix them without destroying what's good. I know this to be true on every level.

I cringe and look away. The words remain.

.

[identity profile] annieb1955.livejournal.com 2009-05-26 08:03 am (UTC)(link)
I have a few early stories of mine that I'd love to redo given the time. However, what I'd do - work on it as the mood takes you but leave it up in the meantime. Then once you've finished revising it, post it as a revised or remixed version