Shame your old work

[MediocreAuthor]

I've only been publishing on this app for less than a year, but I honestly feel like some of my old work is TRASH

While Women's World is a great premise (I stand by that) I think it's an unpolished turd.

Who else has older works that they're ashamed of?

 

[gunhilltrain]

If I don't like them, I eventually rewrite them and publish them elsewhere. There was one story I recently redid on here with the same title. Probably nobody noticed, but it will lead to a sequel that wouldn't be possible otherwise.

 

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

My first work here was uh, really not representative of how I normally write.

 

[AchtungNight]

I have some old fanfics that contained a chaotic mess of scrambled plot lines, a series of character arcs that didn’t go anywhere, and some things I never really thought about before I wrote them. How I got praise for them back in the day I do not know. None are posted on Lit.

 

[Djmac1031]

So my very first story ever was The Doctor Is In...Me, a simple little tale about a guy who gets his prostate milked by an attractive woman doctor.

For a first story, it wasn't terrible. And got a much better reception than I expected.

And of course, reader comments begged for a sequel.

And me, being the eager to please newb I was, decided to try and give them one.

Problem was, I had no fucking clue what to do with it.

I wound up writing a sequel that switched to the doctor's point of view to get into her head on why she did what she did, but after that, I was stumped.

To this day the series sits unfinished because i just didn't know what to do with it.

I don't regret the first story but I do regret the sequel. A case of a new, inexperienced writer overreaching just to please reader demand.

 

[Djmac1031]

A Karen Gets Her Comeuppance.

Originally an attempt at humor, a stab at all the "Karen's" making a buzz on social media.

Except when I finished, I realized what I'd actually written was a Non Con story.

And it didn't sit well with me. (Not slamming anyone who writes / enjoys Non Con, to be clear.)

So I came up with an "alternate ending" where it turns out they were just a married couple role-playing.

It's all rather gimmicky, and I wouldn't do it again.

I should have either just had the guts to post it as Non Con or not revealed my twist as a gimmick.

 

[Seadog777]

I think "shaming" your old work is dumb as shit.

I think going back over it and learning from the mistakes you made, is far better and a better use of your time and energy.

Everything in life is a teaching moment.

 

[ElectricBlue]

None, really. Some of them are a little awkward with some dubious stylistic faults, but reading back even my oldest ones, I see many themes and tropes that I still use. Which either means I've not learned much, or I do them better.

 

[Rob_Royale]

It could have been better, but readers really like it. There's nothing I've done I'm ashamed of.

 

[Cagivagurl]

I've only been publishing on this app for less than a year, but I honestly feel like some of my old work is TRASH

While Women's World is a great premise (I stand by that) I think it's an unpolished turd.

Who else has older works that they're ashamed of?

I hate everything I write, so yeah. Count me in....
I can't read anything I have written.

Cagivagurl.

 

[oneagainst]

None. I have a couple that are still half done on the hard drive that will probably never see the light of day, but everything I've published, I stand by. Which means either:
a) I have a rigorous quality control threshold for launch and don't publish unless I think it's up to standard
b) I'm still blithely writing at entry-level and no-one's had the heart to point it out because it looks like I'm having fun with it regardless

 

[Altissimus]

This thread is bad for self-esteem and mental health in general.

My first stories on Lit were posted 14 years ago, and I still like them. This one (from 2009) still makes me laugh (which is no guarantee anyone else will find it funny) and this (also 2009) is my lowest-scoring story by far, but I still like it; it was originally a technical exercise (dialogue-heavy, zero tags) so it was always going to get a ropey reception.

I mention these things because whatever the thoughts of your original work they always have redeeming qualities. Growth is great, shame is not. Just my opinion.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

This thread is bad for self-esteem and mental health in general.

My first stories on Lit were posted 14 years ago, and I still like them. This one (from 2009) still makes me laugh (which is no guarantee anyone else will find it funny) and this (also 2009) is my lowest-scoring story by far, but I still like it; it was originally a technical exercise (dialogue-heavy, zero tags) so it was always going to get a ropey reception.

I mention these things because whatever the thoughts of your original work they always have redeeming qualities. Growth is great, shame is not. Just my opinion.

Woah! Easy there!

I don't think playfully insulting your old work is bad for self esteem or mental health. If I hated the old works badly enough, I would just delete them.

I called this "shame your old works" but that's more playful exaggeration than anything else. Perhaps I came across as too aggressive.

This was all intended in good fun

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Shame? Hardly, for while my more recent works may be more sophisticated, they are built on a foundation of earlier attempts, in terms of experience.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Well, I am not ashamed of any of my stories in the sense of how they were written. The first chapters were mostly an outlet for some sexual fantasies, but there is nothing bad about them, especially since I started quite early to develop the characters and plot into something more. The grammar though... Oh boy, do I resent the fact that I can't just edit those chapters and fix the glaring mistakes I made

 

[YDB95]

I think I've improved as a writer since I joined here, but I still think my early stories are pretty good. The worst I can say about them is they drag a bit.

 

[nice90sguy]

My first story was posted here in 2002. I'd just won a $2000 first prize in a national screenwriting contest for, and thought I was a writer. God, was I wrong, as the good people here on the AH quickly and gently pointed out.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

The title is misleading; it should consist of just one word—shame.

Are you implying that all my work is shameful?

I wrote a very sweet, silly, comedic poem about loving sex between a husband an a wife. Should I be ashamed of that too?

 

[BobbyBrandt]

To date, my first story published on Lit remains my only award winner. So rather than be ashamed of it, I look upon it with pride.

I believe that if I would have submitted many of my subsequent stories as single posts rather than in chapters, I likely would have won more awards. Not that the chapters didn't do well individually, but the process of readers voting per chapter dilutes the scores in my opinion.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

In case I wasn't clear, shame is a concealed and potent motivator for many "brave" writers, but what do I know?

Ohhh! I thought you were trying to shame me for the subject matter of my stories.

So I chose to point out the one thing I wrote which wasn't about selfish, self-centered people.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't feel that way. I spent years reading other people's stories and thinking about what I wanted to write before I started doing it, so I felt well prepared. My first completed story remains to this day my highest rated story. There are a few things I would change about it, like a longer and better sex scene at the end, but other than that I'm satisfied with it.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Personally, I'm proud of everything I've written, starting with the first chapter of Rescuing the Fallen. Everything before that need serious rework

 

[MediocreAuthor]

... as I read your work, I got the impression that it goes beyond mere fantasy. Beneath the surface of its gloss and linguistic sophistication, there seems to be an unconscious desire to invalidate the person, to punish their body, and suppress their desires — essentially, to negate the self.

"... beyond mere fantasy..."?

Did... did you just accuse me of either being a rapist, or wanting to get raped?

That is a hell of an accusation.

If my desire to "invalidate a person, punish their body, and suppress their desires" is "unconscious" as you affirm, well then I wouldn't be conscious of it, now would I?

In all honesty, I can't explain why I find the idea of ravishment, both using and being used, alluring...

It's quite the conundrum. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

 

[Euphony]

Did... did you just accuse me of either being a rapist, or wanting to get raped?

Self-rape. It's the latest. All the cool kids are doing it.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Did... did you just accuse me of either being a rapist, or wanting to get raped?

Maybe you actually want to rape yourself?
Technically, all you need is a long enough strap-on and a lot of mid-body flexibility
This thread is really starting to shine