Leaving a story to mature

[EmilyMiller]

So I hear (read?) you guys talking about leaving works to marinate. That when you come back to them, you see them with fresh eyes.

I just tried that and - based on my review - fixed one typo (that should have been than) and was happy with everything else. My prose actually seemed better than I had remembered.

Am I just not being self-critical enough? Do I lack the imagination to really appraise and improve my work?

Any comments welcome.

Em

 

[Euphony]

You are the final arbiter.

If stepping away (removing your recency emotional tether) led you to more faith in your initial review, then that's what it is.

While there's merit to many of the self-improvement ideas authors pitch, there's a loud contingent dedicated to the idea that suffering and art must intertwine or else quality creativity is absence.

Fuck that noise.

You gave it necessary time to come at it with honest fresh eyes and are pleased with what you created.

That's all that matters.

 

[EmilyMiller]

You are the final arbiter.

If stepping away (removing your recency emotional tether) led you to more faith in your initial review, then that's what it is.

While there's merit to many of the self-improvement ideas authors pitch, there's a loud contingent dedicated to the idea that suffering and art must intertwine or else quality creativity is absence.

Fuck that noise.

You gave it necessary time to come at it with honest fresh eyes and are pleased with what you created.

That's all that matters.

I was expecting it to be transformative.

I’m not saying my work was wonderful (actually the opposite) but time didn’t enable me to improve it.

I guess I was expecting some magic. That sounds naive just writing it now.

Em

 

[ElectricBlue]

I have a rolling self-edit process, so that, by the time I've finished a story, I've pretty much scrubbed through it multiple times. I'll read it from the top once or twice, maybe do some tweaks here and there, not much. On occasion I'll let it sit a few days, but most times, I'll just submit it. By that time, I've usually started on something new, so the "previous story is done."

 

[Paul_Chance]

I sometimes use this technique when I am uncertain whether or not what I had written is working. I'd say about 50% of the time, when I pick it up again, I go "Nope, all good". I think it's just one of the many tools to have in your writers box.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I have a rolling self-edit process, so that, by the time I've finished a story, I've pretty much scrubbed through it multiple times. I'll read it from the top once or twice, maybe do some tweaks here and there, not much. On occasion I'll let it sit a few days, but most times, I'll just submit it. By that time, I've usually started on something new, so the "previous story is done."

Yeah. I do that as well. I think I pick up a lot of stuff that way.

Em

 

[Euphony]

I was expecting it to be transformative.

I’m not saying my work was wonderful (actually the opposite) but time didn’t enable me to improve it.

I guess I was expecting some magic. That sounds naive just writing it now.

Em

Placing pressures or demands on creativity almost always works against your goals.

You did your part. That it wasn't transformative is inconsequential until you build up sample size of attempts.

Some works don't show their purpose until you see their fruits spring up in later works.

Not every idea is meant to be a story. Not every story is meant to be grand. Focus on the benefits of the write, not necessarily the results, and in the grand scheme you will see improvement.

 

[MrPixel]

Similar story here, although most of what I write sits for a while anyway since it's multi-chapter and I upload only when it's all done. Once I've finished, most of the earlier material has been tweaked to within an inch of its life.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Don't trivialize your stuff, Emily; it's pretty good. As noted however, letting a story rest for a while is one tool which works sometimes, for some people. I use it a lot, but have just pulled up an almost-finished tale from 18 months ago to find that I am rather satisfied with it. I've done it before and left dents in the wall from my head banging in how-could-I-have-done-that? disbelief.

Hang in.

 

[Zenith77]

I edit really damn hard before I hit 'publish'. I read over my works several times, both while writing and when finished. Most grammatical errors jump out at me, and I rarely make a spelling error. Most of the time it's run-on sentences, over-used commas, switching something up to a semi-colon, clarifying a sentence for easier reading. And my old favourite: repeated word usage, particularly after I've added in a new sentence I think needs to be there, only to read on and find I'd said something similar a bit later. Grr.

Yet I still find errors in my work. I read over something I'd published recently and was really irritated to find I'd used 'peaked' when I meant 'piqued'. I almost submitted an edited version right there and then, but it takes so long to publish edits that in the end I CBA.

Fact is, you can find stuff you want to change all-the-damn-time, but at a certain point, you have to accept and be happy.

Where that point is, only you can decide.

Well, that's me, anyway - maybe, if you don't find anything, your polish is of a higher gloss than mine.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Similar story here, although most of what I write sits for a while anyway since it's multi-chapter and I upload only when it's all done. Once I've finished, most of the earlier material has been tweaked to within an inch of its life.

I write a chapter (within a work normally) and then review it. More than once. Typically this involves me going back and changing some earlier stuff (adding foreshadowing, or setting something up etc.). If I make such changes, I tend to read through from the start to my current point.

Then on to the next chapter. Even if I don’t retcon anything, then every few chapters, I read through from the beginning. Both to check for consistency and to make sure I still understand what the story is about.

So my introductory material has probably been read and re-read an awful lot of times before I hit publish.

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

Don't trivialize your stuff, Emily; it's pretty good. As noted however, letting a story rest for a while is one tool which works sometimes, for some people. I use it a lot, but have just pulled up an almost-finished tale from 18 months ago to find that I am rather satisfied with it. I've done it before and left dents in the wall from my head banging in how-could-I-have-done-that? disbelief.

Hang in.

I guess one data point is pretty inconclusive.

Em

 

[Rustyoznail]

It must be an Aussie thing... I pretty much do what EB does. Unless I'm up against a deadline, I'll leave the story for a day or so, then give it a final read before I hit the publish button. Most of the time I don't change a thing, but occasionally I fix a minor error.

 

[alohadave]

Am I just not being self-critical enough?

There is being too critical, and when it's fresh in your head, it's hard to see it on it's own merits, rather than what you want it to be.

If you come back with fresh eyes and time, and you still think it's good, then trust that feeling.

 

[alohadave]

Fact is, you can find stuff you want to change all-the-damn-time, but at a certain point, you have to accept and be happy.

There is a youtuber, CGPGrey that talks about this. He's said that he constantly finds something that he wants to change or improve in his videos. The temptation is to keep tweaking it to try to make it perfect, and what he realized is that you can't make anything perfect, and if he tried to keep improving one video, he'd never get anything else made.

At some point, you have to declare it finished and let it out into the world, warts and all, and to try to do better on the next one.

 

[Trionyx]

I like to come back to my ‘final’ draft after a few weeks. It feels somehow new and I’m able to read it with fresh eyes. Minor grammar and spelling errors are easier to find but what I frequently realize is how a paragraph or a section doesn’t feel right. I’ll use the opportunity to rewrite the section and am frequently much happier with the final result. This is certainly not the best method for everyone but it does help me.

 

[Duleigh]

I was expecting it to be transformative.

I’m not saying my work was wonderful (actually the opposite) but time didn’t enable me to improve it.

I guess I was expecting some magic. That sounds naive just writing it now.

It's not transformative in a mystical sense but if you're lucky you'll spot an error or two that might make you say "What was I thinking?"

 

[Voboy]

I sit on stories not because I'm waiting for them to "mature" somehow, but because I frequently get event/contest ideas at the wrong time of year. So they pretty much have to sit.

Usually I finalize those stories just after I write them, but occasionally I do get lazy and wait to do my final continuity run-through just before the deadline. Whenever that happens, I can't say I get any special vibes from rereading it. It feels just the same as rereading it right after writing it.

 

[Djmac1031]

I suppose it depends on what we're talking about.

I do tend to sit on unfinished stories for awhile then revisit and see if I can finish the damn thing.

Once I feel a story is complete, I then edit several times, for all the usual errors and to see if something needs adding or subtracting.

Once I feel it's finished though, I usually don't see any reason to hold back on publishing besides those last few paranoid checks for stupid spelling errors.

 

[KeithD]

I leave a story at least over night before reviewing it and I always find technical issues to correct. I don't edit as I write, though--I drive to the ending and fix in review. So, it's natural that there will be technical issues to address.

 

[Zootonius]

So I hear (read?) you guys talking about leaving works to marinate. That when you come back to them, you see them with fresh eyes.

I just tried that and - based on my review - fixed one typo (that should have been than) and was happy with everything else. My prose actually seemed better than I had remembered.

Am I just not being self-critical enough? Do I lack the imagination to really apprise and improve my work?

Any comments welcome.

Em

Or maybe - hear me out - you are a better writer than us (well, me). I have to let stories sit and come back to find bad phrases that desperately need rework.

Whatever works, for you or me!

 

[tenyari]

It can help to at least wait long enough that you can't recite the piece from memory, so that when you reread it you aren't accidentally filling in the gaps that should instead be noticed and corrected.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

It’s not one data point, Emily. It’s a bagful of solid, talented scribbling and that matters more.

 

[ronde]

It can help to at least wait long enough that you can't recite the piece from memory, so that when you reread it you aren't accidentally filling in the gaps that should instead be noticed and corrected.

That's the real reason I let a story sit for at least a week before I edit it. The brain is a wonderful thing, sometimes too wonderful, and they're very sneaky. It's sort of like how your brain keeps the picture going when you blink your eyes. You can't see then, but your brain takes pity on you and just does a screen refresh. Your brain will remember what you thought about writing and when it doesn't see that, it will change it so it does and it won't tell you.

 

[Bazzle]

So I hear (read?) you guys talking about leaving works to marinate. That when you come back to them, you see them with fresh eyes.

I just tried that and - based on my review - fixed one typo (that should have been than) and was happy with everything else. My prose actually seemed better than I had remembered.

Am I just not being self-critical enough? Do I lack the imagination to really apprise and improve my work?

Any comments welcome.

Em

Yes, I've learnt to do that. The rush to publish leaves too many mistakes!

It needs to stew/marinate/ferment before the final publish.