Do you ever re-read your old stories?

[windar]

Occasionally I do, either because someone finds one years later and makes a comment that I want to reply to and can't remember what I wrote (advancing Alzheimer's perhaps?) or occasionally just for fun. I found in posting my old story "Trabbian Justice" here that some of the paragraph spacings didn't carry over, so I had to go through it again.

I love all my stories at the time I post them, or I wouldn't post them (I have many that I don't). In re-reading them, I find that the majority do hold up. A few I wonder, "Why in hell did I write that?" and a few I think read better now than they did the first time, aging well like a good wine (wish I could say the same about my knees!).

This weekend, I got a PM on another site from someone who told me that he has re-read a couple of my stories many times. That touched me. One of them is the part of "Trabbian Justice" starting at Chapter 12 here.

I'm curious if any of you have thoughts on this.

 

[oggbashan]

Yes, sometimes. There are so many that I can't remember how I came to write some of them. I couldn't write some of the early ones now. I'm a different person.

 

[yukonnights]

I've on occasion read an old one. Just recently I've reworked my first stories into a three part series instead of being stand alone stories. That's paying off with a number of new readers finding them. So, I enjoyed that.

The ones I enjoy most on a trip back are those with humor/satire themes — they still pull a smile out'a me. I'd also say that it's the older ones that I get more out of — the newer ones I've read so many times in review — not much fun to be had there until I forget what I wrote

 

[jehoram]

I do re-read them from time to time, mostly for discovering what I found erotic then that I don't find erotic now. But I'm satisfied, most of the time, that I made the right call when I wrote the story.

 

[SamScribble]

Do I ever re-read old stories? Yes. From time to time. And, usually, I am slightly surprised. Pleasantly surprised; but surprised, nevertheless. I guess my memory is not what it once was.

 

[KeithD]

Most of the stories I submit here have appeared somewhere else a year or more before and I'm rereading and doing a little reworking of them before they are posted here. This is usually the last stop, though.

 

[NotWise]

I've reread some of mine, but that's become fairly rare. More often, I'll reread certain scenes to see if they really came out right.

 

[TadOverdon]

Yes. For one thing, I get overly concerned with repeated phrasing and descriptions.

 

[Agiel]

I occasionally read my stories again. Sometimes it’s to boost my confidence when I’m on a downer with life generally and I need that boost. Sometimes it’s when I’m struggling to write a scene for a new story and read a story/stories with a similar scene to remind me how successful I was, or what a mess I made of it so I hopefully won’t do it again.

I can remember all the plots but not in detail and when I read some scenes I think “yuk” and then with some others “I did rather well with that.” Never perfect but never complete crap. But I haven’t got a 100 stories, or even 50, so remembering in reasonable detail isn’t too difficult.

There’s lots of reasons for occasionally reading one of your stories again. All good.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Do I re-read my old stories?

Of fucking course! Two reasons: Despite keeping extensive records in regards to people, places and important events in my universes, I can't keep everything memorized. So, before adding a new story thread, I tend to go back and read what has transpired before. Reason #2 is much more personal. Despite primarily telling fantasy or sci-fi tales, many of the sex scenes woven into the stories satisfy my kinks. If I want a certain fix and I'm too lazy to find it in someone else's writing, I can open one of mine and satisfy that craving.

 

[8letters]

Comments? All the time. Read all of one of my published stories? Never. Once they are published, they are out of my head, and I don't want them coming back.

 

[yowser]

All I can think of is "Who was that guy?"

 

[shakna]

Absolutely.

I write most of my stories to satisfy a kink. If I can find a similar story that satisfies, I don't write it to begin with. (Might sound strange as most of my stories aren't stroke-oriented).

 

[stickygirl]

I re-read some recently and wondered how the hell I managed it - it's like a different person set the words down. I guess because I'm 'in the zone' when I write. Weird brain stuff. Then you spot a typo

 

[SimonDoom]

Sure. Not necessarily from start to finish. But I've looked back at parts of stories many times, sometimes to compare what I was doing then with what I do now.

 

[windar]

Do I re-read my old stories?

Of fucking course! Two reasons: Despite keeping extensive records in regards to people, places and important events in my universes, I can't keep everything memorized. So, before adding a new story thread, I tend to go back and read what has transpired before.

Yes of course, that's another reason. I have several series where it might be a year or more since the last story, so I need to refresh my memory if I'm adding a new story.

 

[MrPixel]

Yes. For one thing, I get overly concerned with repeated phrasing and descriptions.

Same here, especially if I'm working on new material. If I don't, I find myself repeating clichés or tired catchphrases that could become telltales that it is something I wrote. It happens anyway, but at least I try to control the repeats.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Do I ever re-read old stories? Yes. From time to time. And, usually, I am slightly surprised. Pleasantly surprised; but surprised, nevertheless. I guess my memory is not what it once was.

Likewise. I'll often find myself thinking, did I write that? In a good way.

I have a habit of writing in one big inter-connected universe where stories refer to other stories, with characters freely moving between them, in and out of time and space.

They're all coming from the same subconscious, so it all makes some kind of sense. It's either solipsistic or self-referential, depending on the time of day.

 

[TadOverdon]

I sometimes find looking at the stories from a couple of years ago reassuring, because at the time I was writing and reviewing I was often convinced that a particular thing I'd done was just...terrible in some respect or another.

I don't know whether I'm getting better or worse. But I know that when I look at some of the old stuff, the things that bothered me when they were fresh are transparent, for lack of a better word: the prose I hated was not much worse or better or different from the prose I was satisfied with. I'm not sure that's useful, but the perspective concerning overthinking what I do is reassuring.

 

[Djmac1031]

Absolutely.

I write most of my stories to satisfy a kink. If I can find a similar story that satisfies, I don't write it to begin with. (Might sound strange as most of my stories aren't stroke-oriented).

Same. Not that I haven't found some great stories here, because I have.

But part of the reason I started writing my own was: no one else was writing the stories I wanted to read.

And of course, they can't. Because everyone has their own particular weird little fantasies.

So yeah, now that I've put mine into words, sure, I read them again from time to time.

Some more than others. Some really are just weird ideas.

My Jenna series I revisit often because, as other series writers have said, I need to refresh my memory on what's happened before I can continue so I can keep my details straight.

 

[Valendon]

I do--

Sometimes it's because I need to refresh my memory when I'm taking characters forward into new story lines.

Sometimes I re-read the early stuff, cringing a bit, to marvel at the changes in my style! I know I still have a long way to go, but seeing movement is encouraging.

 

[DanDraper]

Occasionally I do. I think every writer here does it.




.....

 

[shakna]

So yeah, now that I've put mine into words, sure, I read them again from time to time.

Some more than others. Some really are just weird ideas.

Oh, the weird ones. The ones you know are weird at the time, and then you look back months later and they've only got stranger in time.

 

[HeyAll]

No. My biggest fear is that I'll find a typo and/or bad writing.

Having said that, I edit my old stories all the time to find typos and/or improve certain spots of writing.

At this point, a lot of my older stories don't appeal to me anymore. I think they're too simple in terms of writing and plot. I try to fix that with my newer stories.

 

[LAHomedog]

All the time. What can I say? I have CRS. "Can't remember shit!"