After a week of working through the plot for a new piece of short fiction, I’ve managed to crack it. I have now learnt not to give up on an idea. Chew on it, choke a little, but don’t let the bugger best you.
After a week of working through the plot for a new piece of short fiction, I’ve managed to crack it. I have now learnt not to give up on an idea. Chew on it, choke a little, but don’t let the bugger best you.
Eric Nash 
Short stories, which petered out and get forgotten, because you have moved on to another idea and wrote something else. These can be cringe-making to look back on. The character description, era, dialogue might look dated and seem not to work. They were though stepping stones and probably assisted in taking you forward. The writer’s voice is talked about-and finding it ! That story you go back to can be invigorated from your ability to observe it from your new vantage point. A piece of fiction that never went anywhere at the time might still contain good ideas. You are now more able to improve and develop these. Re-writes are the means to clarify ideas and capture the meaning and description you really want to portray to the reader. This technique can be applied to a near forgotten short story.
I think you’re right, Colin. Cringing at one’s earlier work is evidence that one has moved forward as a writer.