Either leave them where they are and move on or take the plunge and bring them out into the light.
Sometimes, our old manuscripts should remain unseen. They were the projects we worked on when we were learning the craft of writing, testing out our voice and finding creative ways to express ourselves. Only you know if they are worthy of showing someone now. And, believe me, you do know! If your gut is telling you to forget them, then do exactly that. If your gut is telling you something else, go with it.
I read somewhere, once long ago, that the first 100,000 words we write is for practice. I believe that is mostly true. Of course, there is always an exception and maybe you're the exception.
Start a blog and share your posts on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.
Start showing ppl. accept criticism,but don't change for anyone. people either accept you for keepin it real of they don't,as long as you take pride in urself,thats all that matters. ur view of urself is how otheres will see you.
Pull them out and read them into a recording device. Then listen to what you have written with as cold and objective attitude as possible. Your work will tell you what needs more attention and what should be forgotten.
Go back and re-read everything you ever wrote. There are no magic formulas. It just takes a desire to write, to find a good story to tell, and to tell it well. Writing takes practice. It’s hard work and much like running a marathon. You have to stay focused and keep developing skills. Leaving your work for a while and then coming back to it can be a good thing because your mind has an opportunity to clear. You might also find your opinion changes in between the time you first sat down to write about a particular subject, and the time that has passed. Eventually you have to show someone your work. Pick someone you know will be honest even if their criticism is harsh. You'll become a better writer for it.
Ask a friend or supportive loved one to read them.
People pursue writing to make money. I say this, would you rather die with 100 Million Dollars in your bank account, or die knowing that 100 Million People were touched by the words you wrote. Don't be ashamed of your writing skills, the big guns say "A WRITER WRITES" if you have written something then good for you well done, even if it's shite you still got off your scrawny butt and wrote it down. Show people, don't bury it in a Pyramid Tomb for archaeologists to dig up 10,000 years from now and say "What was that guy thinking when he wrote this shite?" NO, I say, get it out to everyone, create a blog and publish your works on it. Then spread the word of your wonderful creation to the Bloggosphere, the Twitterverse and the FacialZone and be proud that people are reading your shite, that's right YOUR SHITE. Who knows, what you may think is pure shite others may think is complete brilliance, look at "The Mighty Boosh" as, I might add, an excellent example.
The point of writing is communication and the only way to do that is to disseminate your work. It isn't communication if it is not read by others.
I hold onto everything, even if I plan on never finishing it. You never know when you can be writing something and realize that scene you wrote five years ago could actually be used in this one story, you just need to change the names.
Read them every now and then and chuckle to yourself over just how bad you were once upon a time.
But do NOT throw them away. Ever.
show someone :)
Read all of it again, and if it's still relevant to who you are now and you still find yourself moved by it - find someone you can trust, and share. If it's no longer relevant, then keep it for posterity but don't think about it when you're writing or you'll find yourself stuck.
Or, do what I'm doing (see previous answer).
Come out of the cuccoon, share & show, try, try, try again...
Don't throw a single one of them away, even the barest fragment. This is particularly true if you wrote them as a child because we are at our most imaginative as children.
Read them again. And then suck it up and show someone! |
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