Recently, I’ve gotten a little sidetracked by revising an older story. I loved EVERY WORD six months ago, but now I realize that it can be cut in half and make more sense. There’s a fine line between going back and refining old work, and just getting on with it and working on something new, and it can be hard to spot the difference. At a certain point, I think I have to admit that some of this isn’t going to be published and let it go, move on to other things.
I was discussing this with a filmmaker friend, who had some very wise advice: “The process of changing can be endless. I think writing captures the author’s mood/creativity/outlook at a point in time. Going back, you would always change something because you’re a different person than the person who write it (even if it’s just months ago). I fight with this all the time. Am I making it better? Or am I just making it different? Better is good. Different is a waste of time, IMO. That said, if there’s a story you love and want to update/improve, go for it!!” Thanks, Chuck Michael.
What do you think?
I was discussing this with a filmmaker friend, who had some very wise advice: “The process of changing can be endless. I think writing captures the author’s mood/creativity/outlook at a point in time. Going back, you would always change something because you’re a different person than the person who write it (even if it’s just months ago). I fight with this all the time. Am I making it better? Or am I just making it different? Better is good. Different is a waste of time, IMO. That said, if there’s a story you love and want to update/improve, go for it!!” Thanks, Chuck Michael.
What do you think?
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