My last entry suggested that you put your writing away for a while and then return to revise it. This works not only while in the midst of a project but also long after the project is done. Revisiting old creations can be exciting and, well, creative.

Recently, I looked at poetry, essays, and stories I wrote, some of it up to thirteen years old. A number of pieces had been published, but most had not. I was surprised to find that much of it was still powerful and well written.

Reading it had a two-fold effect: I felt both like going back to some of the old work and revising it, updating it, improving what I thought had been fine before, and like starting fresh. So I’m doing both: the old work remains open on my desktop, and blank documents are filling with new words.

I’m not saying that some of what I read didn’t make me cringe. But even where there was drek, a wonderful phrase lurked. There is new in the old.

Tags: Revision, Publication