Do you re-read your own stories? How often? How do they strike you?

[orangecurious]

Yes, now and then.

I had a comment on the Suburban Sweetheart series that I should continue it (it had ended in 2006 as I realised I didn't like the way the original plot went for the female character) so I re-read the originals and I was quite surprised at it and it made me want to carry on - and give the character the ending she deserved (so much so, that she may star in her own spin-off of her adventures from 2006 unto the present day)

 

[Britva415]

How do they strike you?

They've always struck me as being exactly like I remember them.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Do you re-read your own stories? How often? How do they strike you?​

Sure I do. What raving narcissist wouldn’t?

Most often if I’m writing something new featuring the same characters. But sometimes just for fun, or to see how far I’ve come.

What’s my reaction? Well I tend to assume my earliest work is utter drivel most of the time. But, on re-reading, they are often not just the strokers that I tend to dismiss them as. Even right at the start, in anything approaching short story length, I have characters with motivations beyond “let’s fuck.” I often think my style was more uneven back then. And there is some truth to that. But my early stories aren’t as bad as I normally think.

I’ve tried to read some of my more recent stories just as a reader. It’s hard to decouple yourself from the writing, but I give it a go. I’ve been surprised that I have enjoyed many of them as just works of fiction, not my creations.

So, when I don’t read my old stories, I’m embarrassed by them. When I do, they are better than I remember. And I find myself quite enjoying my later stories, just as stories.

Emily

 

[StillStunned]

So, when I don’t read my old stories, I’m embarrassed by them. When I do, they are better than I remember. And I find myself quite enjoying my later stories, just as stories.

Same here. After all, I write the stories that I'd want to read, so why shouldn't I read them? And when I read them, I enjoy them, because they're the stories that I want to read.

I also read them to my wife, and she enjoya them. Then we have hot middle-aged-people sex, followed by a nap.

 

[darkride]

I don't re-read my old stuff "generally speaking"...

The thread title caught me because - the very first erotic writing I attempted, way back in the mid 90s on my first PC (ick - not a PC, it was a Mac Classic) I actually wrote so that I could then re-read it and wank. So... Yes. But, these days, I don't even do that any more. I greatly enjoy writing erotica, and tend to walk away with a nice damp feeling in my pants (precum, people, precum!), but I don't know that I'd purposely re-read my erotica other than to recap what I'd previously written before starting the next chapter.

That all said... I sat down about a year ago and re-read a 90 page story that I wrote back on 2008. (Script format; 90 minute tv pilot) I liked what I read, but saw so many things I would do differently... and yet, there are stories I wrote when I was 18 back in the 90s that I feel don't need touching.

 

[HopelessDreams]

I typically won't reread any completed writing of mine in its entirety until at least half a year later. By then I also usually cringe when I reread it and I'll want to change a lot, even if I had already edited it plenty of times before initially posting it.

On Literotica though, I won't reread/edit my previous stories until I intend to post a new one soon (and at least half a year has passed since I last posted/edited my older stories). This is because I anticipate that my new story will bring more attention to my older ones, and I don't want to trouble Laurel to re-approve my stories more often than that.

 

[toughfire]

Sometimes I read my own stories to see if they still make sense, and my reaction is mixed. I notice that the stories I took more time to write age better than the ones I wrote on a whim. My writing style is always evolving, so I always feel a little uncomfortable with certain words I used in old stories. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and rewrite an entire section. I have to control myself not to edit them, especially here on Literotica where the process is so slow. This feeling has influenced me to pay more attention to the words I choose and the way I tell a story.

 

[THBGato]

I have re-read my stuff since it has been published here, mostly to check continuity (as all of my stories so far are connected), like "did I spell his name with a double or single n? What colour did I say her eyes were?" That kind of stuff.

I've then often found myself getting sucked in and reading to the end. I'm hoping that's a sign of a hooky story and not just me finding a new way to procrastinate from writing (in addition to hanging out here).

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Just reread When Lightning Strikes for about the tenth time. It still makes me smile. Someone favorited it, and I thought, sure, I could use a feel good right now.

 

[intim8]

I do, occasionally, for various reasons, and surprisingly, I tend to find them better than I remembered them being when I wrote them.

The ones I publish at least. Some of the crap on my hard drive, whew, so glad I never put those out.

 

[jehoram]

Finally, a few months after publishing, I give it a fresh read and see if the story still titillates and surprises me. I like those revisits because they make new ideas pop into my head and I like to remember what it was that made me write it in the first place.

That's what I do, except that it's usually a few years after publishing. I have two reactions. First, I find that the story still hits all the right buttons erotically. Second, I see phrases that I probably should have re-written. (That's why some actors and directors never see one of their movies after its out; they're obsessed with the things they would have done differently.)

 

[intim8]

they're obsessed with the things they would have done differently.

I get that sometimes too, but I've avoided being obsessed with it. I guess I kind of have a blase attitude about the things I've published: they are what they are, for better or worse. When I see flaws, I file them away as a lesson for next time.

I think that comes from my "pantsing" writing style, it makes me feel less like any given work is "the one" that is going to make or break me.

 

[gacor]

I struggle to reread my own stories. Noticing all the mistakes and improvements I could have easily made, but failed to see at the time fills me with embarrassment.

 

[MillieDynamite]

When I reread my own work I'm searching for missed mistakes. Sometimes I get caught up in the story and think, "Wow, I wrote this."

 

[Trionyx]

Sometimes I reread a story and ask myself, ‘Where did I get that idea from?’ Until I started writing here I had never done anything remotely creative so to see a particularly interesting (or may I even say ‘good’?) idea or plot twist is quite the thrill, even months or years after the fact.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

ooh, I hate rereading my stories. I'm fairly neurotic, so every time I reread a scene (often prompted by a reader mentioning something specific), I can't help but think of a thousand ways I could've said this or that better.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I rarely reread my own stories, I'm just too busy reading or writing new stuff. But when I do reread my own work, I tend to get lost in the words until I spot a typo that I somehow missed. Then I feel the need to dig up the original word file, fix the typo(s), and resubmit the whole thing so it's as perfect as it should be.

 

[Helgamite]

sometimes I read mine just to get Ideas on where to take the next episode or Ideas on what i can do for another series.

I also read mine to look for errors even after an editor has gone thru it, I can always spot a few more myself. It helps me learn where my weaknesses are and grow.

I also re-read them after reading a few comments to see where the reader is coming from.

 

[tenyari]

Sometimes. But I want a lot of time in between reads and especially time after I wrote it. If I can remember most of it before I start reading it then I won't bother - even if my memory if off, it colors my perception of what I'm about to read and I am more likely to fail to notice problems like bad spelling or grammar.

There's value in reading it after a year or two to spot if you missed things or made mistakes. You might have had a whole subplot in your head that you forgot to write into the actual story. You might have written a subplot in the story that you forgot to wrap up because you thought you had done so. You might have thought it was perfect for a sequel or should never get one but on a reread realize otherwise.

Reread it too soon after and you're just giving yourself confirmation bias.