Selah // Something Witty

Whispering to my ocean.

Date: 07.14.17 -- Day 44
Music: "Afraid" / Amel Larrieux

Looking back on older writing can be a bit of trip. I've been going through my old portfolio and searching through different writings, some of which I've been deleting or making private because they're either really rough and problematic or just notes for a project I never finished. Oh boy. Some of this stuff is just...so much, lol. One of the things I've been trying to come to terms with is the ability to grow as a writer. You're most likely going to have cringe-worthy stuff. It's inevitable. It's necessary to work out what your voice is. This is where "it's the journey not the destination" truly proves its worth.

The one that made me cringe and chuckle was a contest entry for "14 Days, 7 Prompts, 1 Story Contest"  from back in 2009 -- "Harvest Lake" . (Full confession, I renamed it after reading through it.) My original intent to reading it again was to delete it. Out with the old, in with the new. I mean, it is pretty rough. I can be a concise writer, but this was moving at tremendous speeds for the characters I was writing, particularly the main character, Norah. Now, she sounds more petulant than a fully-developed character with any real dimension. And the tension between her and her ex-husband was a bit forced. It was really something that need more space than I gave it. Plus, the gotcha moment in the fifth entry, while trying to be subtle, can completely go over the readers' heads because I'm not that good of a writer to make that work.

I say all of this, yet I couldn't delete it. It is a reminder of where I was as a writer eight years ago. It is a reminder that I want to get better. And maybe, just maybe, I can make it better. "Harvest Lake" has some potential. Maybe a revision project? (Some things never change, do they Lonewolf ?) Or maybe I leave it as is to remain that reminder that I was a different writer than I am now. There was points of potential in that story. May even have some of that potential left. Who knows?

If I could recommend one thing, it would be to go through your archives and remember the writer you once were. Take that journey down memory. Wallow yourself in nostalgia. You might even be surprised by what you find.