Proud of my mistakes
So, who hasn’t made a few in their life, eh? I know I have, and I’ll continue to do so. However, at any venture, I know that I strive to do my best. The same was two or three years ago when I wrote First Love First Aid. It is a cute short story about a nurse who falls in love with her employer. It’s kitchy, cliche. And awful. Well, not very awful, but a bit.
None the less, I still have pride in my work. Am I proud of writing something that years later is making me cringe for just a second? No. I’m proud of the fact that I can recognize the growth that occurred since it was created.
That is why in my recent contest, I included a signed copy of it in the prize package. I hope that the cuteness of the story makes the reader enjoy it; I pray they forgive me of the grammatical and spelling errors still present that neither myself nor the editor saw the first few times before it was set in internet stone.
Most of all, I hope that it isn’t as cringe-worthy as I no longer think it is because I want readers to want more. I promise I’ve improved. And I’ll show you.
How do any of you feel about your former writing?
Tags: cringe, First Love First Aid, Leigh Royals, mistakes, writing
July 26th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Everything is a learning experience. I like to think that I get better with every new work. I don’t go back and reread a lot of my old stuff, because I probably will cringe. LOL.
July 26th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I definitely see it as a learning experience.
My first attempts at stories, were, unfortunately, rather scary. But I know they weren’t as bad as they could be, I don’t think.
Bad as they were, I’m proud of my (sad, sad) attempts.
July 26th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Honestly, I purged all of it. Just looking at it a few years later would make me cringe.
July 26th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
I think we all must cringe a little at those earlier attempts, and I’m nearly certain that a couple years from now, I’ll probably cringe at what I’m writing now! It’s really amazing and how much we grow from one book to the next, isn’t it?:)
“I’m proud of the fact that I can recognize the growth that occurred since it was created.”
That’s exactly right! It’s really cool to look back and realize that so much growth has occurred.
Now I’m going to look around your site. Talk with you soon!
July 27th, 2008 at 3:24 am
I do tend to cringe when I think of the very first story I submitted to Ellora’s Cave three years ago - gosh! It had everything they hated, including a pregnacy. I really didn’t do any homework and I was extremely naive…however, I often read that piece of writing now and feel nostalgia more than anything. It’s nice to see how with some effort and work, writing can be honed.
July 27th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Some good, some so bad I wanta throw it in the garbage but I hang onto it to remind myself how far I’ve come. Plus, maybe someday, it’ll be worth something when I’m famous. lol. It could happen.
July 27th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Some good, some so bad I wanta throw it in the garbage but I hang onto it to remind myself how far I\’ve come. Plus, maybe someday, it\’ll be worth something when I\’m famous. lol. It could happen.
July 27th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I manage to see both sides of my earlier work.
I do tell damn good stories, if I do say so myself.
I always see where I could make them better.
July 29th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Having just read “First Love First Aid,” I can say for a fact that while the writing is not super-polished, there is a great story in there. While you’re working on technique now, your stories have been there all along. Keep on trucking, Leigh. You’re doing great.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:47 am
I’m proud of you for writing! There is so much more writing ahead of you and plenty of time to improve and grow