The Simplest Way to Improve as a Writer
Reading your own work might be cringey, but it works
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I’m putting together a collection of my stories (to be published this coming fall) so I’m going through a lot of old pieces, with varying degrees of pride and discomfort. I hate reading my old pieces. I approach it the way a lot of people approach listening to themselves on tape, or looking at pictures of themselves: A combination of cringing, hopefulness, dread, curiosity, regret, and tender optimism. Sure, when I wrote this I thought it was good — but now? Does it sound mannered, twee? Are the jokes still funny? (Were they ever funny?) Why do I use so many semi-colons?? Isn’t this paragraph oppressively long? Yikes, this sentence is a curlicue of misdirection. Hmmm, that’s a rather nice metaphor. Ok, stop congratulating yourself. There’s too much packed into too small a space — why didn’t I air this out, explain things more fully? What was the rush? Why do I use the word “ambient” so much?
I don’t mean to imply that I’m a self-flagellating punisher who can’t enjoy the fruits of my labor. But writing is a megaphone — small at the origin (the writer), and wide at the delivery point (the reader)…
