owlmoose | Revisiting

So my fic archive is pretty much complete, if not completely up-to-date -- I need to post the stories I wrote in June and July still -- with one huge exception.^*

A Guardian's Legacy.

Converting and reposting 46 chapters is not a small task, but once I get started it should go quickly enough -- it only took me a couple of days to post all 35 chapters of Death Shall Have No Dominion, even with the formatting errors I had to fight, and by now I have the conversion process down cold. But that was just a straight re-post, except for fixing a typo here and there. I have this idea that I ought to do a no-holds-barred edit of AGL from beginning to end: tighten a few things up, tweak some of the characterization, and so forth. I like to think I've grown as a writer quite a bit in the last three years; there is a lot to improve this story. But that would be a huge project, and kind of daunting. So I keep putting it off.

So the question is, should I bother? I know I could make the story better, but that's true of everything I've ever written, and I didn't do serious edits on any of the others. Would it be better to just repost it, perhaps fixing egregious errors but otherwise leaving it as a historic document, a testament to where I started and a touchstone for how far I've come? On the other hand, much as I've enjoyed so many of the stories I've written, AGL is still my baby. It was the first, the longest, the most all-consuming. Shouldn't it be the best it can be? And the idea of diving back into it after all this time is really appealing.

I also still feel like my writing is still very sluggish. I'm producing more than I was, but that's not saying much. Almost every story I've posted in the last while is a old WIP I've dusted off and polished up. And I'm not sure whether spending lots time on editing an old piece is a good way to jumpstart the urge to sit down and write on a regular basis, or whether it's just a way of avoiding the issue.

Thoughts, oh ye many writers and editors on my flist?

*This is not strictly true because I also haven't brought over "Aftermath" yet, mostly to avoid the question of having an active WIP on my archive site, since I'm not exactly sure how I want to handle that. And kind of avoiding it entirely. Damn you story, why won't you write yourself like all the other big stories did?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I see no reason why you cannot have it both ways. Post the novel as it is and call it 'Classic' or 'Original' then take your time doing the clean up and up-dating with your improved skills, post that and label it 'Revised'. Personally, I like to keep my old things as they were, preserved in a literary amber, so that I can revisit my past creations. It always surprises me that they are as good as they are. Extensive revision can so easily lose that first enthusiastic fervour which we all have when we come to ideas for the first time. Once lost, it cannot be restored. Do think long and hard before you make major changes no matter how much you feel they will be better both in writing and/or concept. I loved the work as it stood and found it to be well written and coherent. Of course, you have become a better writer; I should hope we all have after so long a time. However, be careful not to discard your beginnings like a developer tearing down a well-loved building to erect another block of condos. ;)

But what if they're really, really nice condos? ;)

No, you raise an excellent point, and you've hit on part of the reason I have hesitated to undertake the editing project.

The original would continue to exist either way because I have no intention of taking anything down from FF.net; then again, part of the reason I'm doing this is to have all of my work posted in a place where it's under my control, and if anything ever happens to FF.net the original would be lost (I have Word documents for the chapters still, but those are late drafts, not the final posted versions). So I think you're right -- I should repost it as-is whether I edit it or not.

Thank you! Your comment is very helpful.

I actually have not read it, which is kind of AWESOME, because it is now top of my list for "long fic to read at work on days things are broken" (usually I have to delve into Harry Potter fandom for this. I'm desperate), so thanks!

I guess I'm torn on re-writing. I keep my stories the way they are the second I post them, because I'm not much of a re-writer -- I'll rehash an idea into an entirely new story if I think it needs improvement. Then again, it's an attractive thought to take something that you know was a good idea (but maybe not executed as well as you'd like) and turn it into something outstanding.

I actually think the idea of doing both might be neat, if it's not too much work for you. Then you'd have a copy of the old one archived if you, say, got half-way through rewriting and lost interest or got busy and dropped the project (this is what would happen to me, hands-down.)

Oh cool. :) If you do read it, I would very much like to know what you think!

This idea appeals to me partly because I actually like re-writing. Sometimes I think I may even prefer it to writing (maybe I've missed my calling to be an editor). So the project appeals on that level. Then again, because editing is always so very tempting, I've had to train myself not to edit things once I've posted them. Either this is a great excuse to indulge myself or a mistake on the order of handing an addict a bottle of whisky. ;)

Then you'd have a copy of the old one archived if you, say, got half-way through rewriting and lost interest or got busy and dropped the project

This is a very excellent point, and as good a reason as any to post the original first, which I think I've pretty much settled on what I'm going to do. Thanks! I would never have thought of the "post both" option if you and Ikon hadn't suggested it.

I would say post it as-is, and then edit if you feel the need and repost the updated version.

One of the hardest things I'm going through with Every Light is rewriting and fixing all the stupid things I broke during NaNoWriMo. (Both of my betas can attest to how often I wail "I HATE KAIN WHY AM I DOING THIS I HATE REWRITING WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" or something loosely similar.)

But I also think that you can learn a lot about your own writing style and your own weaknesses by doing a project like this. Example: one of my biggest weaknesses is court protocol. This is why I have

celeloriel to fix such things, but it never fails to make me want to cry and tear my hair out and wonder why I wanted to write a stupid fricking political drama in the first place. This teaches me to avoid such problems in the future, or at least ways to deal with them that don't make me so angry!

But I also think that you can learn a lot about your own writing style and your own weaknesses by doing a project like this.

Totally; even in just reading through the chapters as I repost them, I am noticing things, both the things that don't work and the things that do.

Revisiting

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