I meant the opposite, lol. I think it's great at first, but when I come back to it after a few months I think, "How on Earth could I have written something this bad?"
This always happened to me except one time where I re read it after a few months and I thought it was great but should change a few things so I decided to make a new draft that I’ll… write at some point
That's what I'm saying, lol. After I write it, I think it's the best writing I've ever done. And then six months later I come back to it and I'm like, "WTF, this sucks."
I am literally between those two states right now. Due to send my WIP to a publisher tomorrow and I’m currently oscillating between wildly impressed when I come upon sentences I wrote months ago and wanting to lob my computer out the damned window at how cliched and awful it is.
I sometimes have the opposite lol I mean, it’s happened of course but I’ve found that as I write more and grow as a writer or whatever, I’m more likely to reread my stuff (or stumble upon it) and actually be like “wait who wrote this? Was this ME? Not bad!” lol
It’s the opposite for me! Whenever I finish a chapter all I have is a general feel of how each part went in my head (usually feeling like the end was rushed and messy), but then I went back and re-read the first couple chapters of my WIP and actually enjoyed it! I now understand all those ‘when your favourite author (you) doesn’t post the chapter early enough’ posts (wouldn’t call myself my favourite author though)
A few times, yeah. Then I have to tell myself not to be vain and bring myself back down to earth... but that doesn't mean I'm not still feeling a little proud of and giddy about my work. :)
I've had the opposite.
I wrote something that was supposed to be a serious tone but felt that maybe it was a too edgy.
Came back to it many moons later and realized it read like a dark comedy.
When I was a young man I thought I was a freaking genius. Then I grew up and realized I’m just another dumb asshole. I rarely write anything that I’m actually proud of. I might have overcorrected.
Every other scene I've written so far in my WIP. The only one I've been consistently proud of is my first kiss scene between the two lead characters. I started this thing last June. Some days I revisit it and think no one is possibly a better writer than I am, and then other days - sometimes the same day - I can think it's total crap.
Back when I was in my last year of high school, I wrote a story that I was convinced at the time was the greatest thing I had ever written. I thought it was amazing, yeah, maybe there were some problems with it but the story was overall amazing. I was showing it off to everyone, trying to get them to read what I considered just short of a masterpiece, the best thing I had ever written (yeah I was puffing myself up lol). Now, six years later, I recently went back to it out of curiosity and physically cringed. It literally hurt to read it. I was like "what is this????? I thought this was good??? I showed this to people???? I can't believe I made people read this!!" It was so bad. Maybe in the same way I puffed up my ego to think it was the best thing ever when I wrote it, I'm now being extra critical because of how great I thought it was, but man, when I read it for the first time in all those years, I just... could not believe in any way how I thought it was so amazing. It's so bad lmao.
Often, I will revisit old writing, especially from early on in my craft, and find that what I thought worked didn't work well, but that has the added benefit of resurrecting old work for revisions.
Regarding publication packages (I primarily send out poetry and short stories)... I cringe all the time, even at pieces that get picked up. My submittable has the power to ruin my day.
The height and fall of sending your work for review + feedback, expecting praise, all to be brought down to earth is humbling every damn time. Needed, but damn it stings it to process lol.
Every. Single. Time.
My short story won a writing contest a year ago (so it was not that bad). Today, I tried to have a look at it for the first time in a year, but the cringe was so strong that I couldn't get past the first page. It's physically painful at this point.
Sometimes I will look at a chapter or some thing months later. And think, “wow. That’s really good” but I don’t remember writing that. But I know I did.
I go from loving my work, to hating it and feeling absolutely insecure about it, all within the same hour.
One of my biggest frustrations is just being unable to spot problems in my writing that I would always spot in other people’s. I’ve worked as an editor so it should be easy but it’s like there’s a blind spot when it comes to my own prose. I pick up on things six months down the line and feel like an idiot for not fixing them sooner.
I felt pretty proud of the last project I finished. Compared to what I'd written before, I thought there was some pretty tangible growth, which was very gratifying.
I feel attacked, I reread some of my writing the other night and forgot I wrote it. I exclaimed "this is fantastic, when is the next update?!" and then realized I was the writer.
The next update is whenever I finish it. Ugh.
It’s usually only when I share it and receive compliments a lot on it.
Someone said it inspired them to write recently and I have been RIDING that high.
Your second sentiment may be an indication that you came to read your writing through the lens of the status quo (which the best writing tends to transgress in one way or another).
I'll write something and think "This is going okay."
I'll come back a month or six months later for re-writing and think "Wow, this is not good."
Once I'm done with the final draft, a few years later I'll re-read it and think "Bugger me, how come I can't write like this any more?"
I'm in awe of my high school self. He was bloody good, and prolific as hell.
yep that's why i dont like to look back over my writing until I need to. One of the best habits I've developed is walking away on a high note for the day
My two writings moods are either “Wow I’m literally the best writer in the world” or “That was the worst writing in the world” and then I try my hardest to continue and come back to it later.
I thought that about this ( https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/mj82jv/wp_the_worlds_first_true_ai_would_like_nothing/gtbju0v/ ), but I never really got feedback on it.
Only the first part. Not familiar with the second except in cases of "I could've done this or that better" but it's specific detail things, not overall
I never feel good about my writing. I write in fear of being both boring and poorly constructed. I try to get in move fast and get out before the reader has a chance to consider what they are reading.
Yes happened to me.
I was 16 when I wrote this extremely vast novel which got so popular among my friends and classmates that people started to read and get back to me
Know that it was a hand written novel it was not typed but legit written in this fat ass book
Which got circulated everywhere
People even had queues for the same
We were all teens
I completely forgot about it when life happened
Now I’m 22
I found it the other day and I started reading it
I was quite impressed and cringed at the same time lol
It was this beautiful perfect love story that is insanely delusional
I believe it’s so delusional that’s I can release it as a sarcastic novel over a romance novel lol
I’m a firm believer in protecting before the fall so I’ll usually just say : “hey that’s not half bad”. Though normally I say
“Oh shit! Why did I think THAT would be good to write
This happened when I tried writing a book when I was 11. I remember thinking how innovative and good the plot was. Came back to it years later and now I can't even read that thing without questioning my existence. Don't want to read but also couldn't delete(was too nostalgic).
Can I ask how or where you turned in your work to be reviewed? I'm fairly new to writing and close to finishing a short story, and I have no clue what to do after I'm done.
That happens when I write something and then I come back to it six months later
This, there has to be a significant time lapse to the point where I basically don't recognize it.
This exactly. It sounds normal, maybe even bad at first, but then I'll come back to it and feel really proud. :)
I meant the opposite, lol. I think it's great at first, but when I come back to it after a few months I think, "How on Earth could I have written something this bad?"
This always happened to me except one time where I re read it after a few months and I thought it was great but should change a few things so I decided to make a new draft that I’ll… write at some point
This happens to me when I write something and come back to it six seconds later.
I'm exactly the opposite, most of my writing seems worse to me after I give it time to breath.
That's what I'm saying, lol. After I write it, I think it's the best writing I've ever done. And then six months later I come back to it and I'm like, "WTF, this sucks."
Oh I thought you were responding to just the header, I didn't read the body.
Hopefully it’s because you improved
I am literally between those two states right now. Due to send my WIP to a publisher tomorrow and I’m currently oscillating between wildly impressed when I come upon sentences I wrote months ago and wanting to lob my computer out the damned window at how cliched and awful it is.
This is me. All the time.
Don't get me even started.
Or actually please do, getting started is one of my bigger hurdles these days.
please commence. i will read it all.
Would you be interested in reading a story of mine? 👉🏼👈🏼
yes, absolutely!
Ah cool. I’ll dm you.
Love your username
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha Ahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha Yes, ugh, all the time 😭
I sometimes have the opposite lol I mean, it’s happened of course but I’ve found that as I write more and grow as a writer or whatever, I’m more likely to reread my stuff (or stumble upon it) and actually be like “wait who wrote this? Was this ME? Not bad!” lol
oh my god yeah. Especially in the evening
It’s the opposite for me! Whenever I finish a chapter all I have is a general feel of how each part went in my head (usually feeling like the end was rushed and messy), but then I went back and re-read the first couple chapters of my WIP and actually enjoyed it! I now understand all those ‘when your favourite author (you) doesn’t post the chapter early enough’ posts (wouldn’t call myself my favourite author though)
A few times, yeah. Then I have to tell myself not to be vain and bring myself back down to earth... but that doesn't mean I'm not still feeling a little proud of and giddy about my work. :)
I finish writing, and I feel like an absolute creative genius... Then I read it the next day and realize that I am, in fact, not.
every day
Yeah to be honest the feeling normally only lasts until I open the document again
Only with at least 8-month gap between writing and reading back. But now it should be fine.
Only after a lot of time has passed. But that's when you know you have improved over time.
I've had the opposite. I wrote something that was supposed to be a serious tone but felt that maybe it was a too edgy. Came back to it many moons later and realized it read like a dark comedy.
When I was a young man I thought I was a freaking genius. Then I grew up and realized I’m just another dumb asshole. I rarely write anything that I’m actually proud of. I might have overcorrected.
Every other scene I've written so far in my WIP. The only one I've been consistently proud of is my first kiss scene between the two lead characters. I started this thing last June. Some days I revisit it and think no one is possibly a better writer than I am, and then other days - sometimes the same day - I can think it's total crap.
Back when I was in my last year of high school, I wrote a story that I was convinced at the time was the greatest thing I had ever written. I thought it was amazing, yeah, maybe there were some problems with it but the story was overall amazing. I was showing it off to everyone, trying to get them to read what I considered just short of a masterpiece, the best thing I had ever written (yeah I was puffing myself up lol). Now, six years later, I recently went back to it out of curiosity and physically cringed. It literally hurt to read it. I was like "what is this????? I thought this was good??? I showed this to people???? I can't believe I made people read this!!" It was so bad. Maybe in the same way I puffed up my ego to think it was the best thing ever when I wrote it, I'm now being extra critical because of how great I thought it was, but man, when I read it for the first time in all those years, I just... could not believe in any way how I thought it was so amazing. It's so bad lmao.
No
[Yup.](https://i.imgur.com/71ppBRu.jpeg)
Sometimes I write a book off an idea that I think sounds great but then I feel like I poorly execute it.
Once in a while. Usually I just find flaws in it.
I’ll tell you when that’s not the case
Often, I will revisit old writing, especially from early on in my craft, and find that what I thought worked didn't work well, but that has the added benefit of resurrecting old work for revisions. Regarding publication packages (I primarily send out poetry and short stories)... I cringe all the time, even at pieces that get picked up. My submittable has the power to ruin my day.
Wait where do you get it reviewed?
All I do is go between these two in an infinite cycle
Anytime I write code in C#
I was gonna say, OP premise sounds like programmer humor.
Nope.
The height and fall of sending your work for review + feedback, expecting praise, all to be brought down to earth is humbling every damn time. Needed, but damn it stings it to process lol.
Every. Single. Time. My short story won a writing contest a year ago (so it was not that bad). Today, I tried to have a look at it for the first time in a year, but the cringe was so strong that I couldn't get past the first page. It's physically painful at this point.
Yeah! And then I woke up.
I've had a few proud moments, yeah. I think it's the best feeling for a writer
Only after editing
Sometimes I will look at a chapter or some thing months later. And think, “wow. That’s really good” but I don’t remember writing that. But I know I did.
I go from loving my work, to hating it and feeling absolutely insecure about it, all within the same hour. One of my biggest frustrations is just being unable to spot problems in my writing that I would always spot in other people’s. I’ve worked as an editor so it should be easy but it’s like there’s a blind spot when it comes to my own prose. I pick up on things six months down the line and feel like an idiot for not fixing them sooner.
All the fucking time \*lights a cigarette in a dark room\*
I felt pretty proud of the last project I finished. Compared to what I'd written before, I thought there was some pretty tangible growth, which was very gratifying.
Cool lines turn cringe after a few days
I feel attacked, I reread some of my writing the other night and forgot I wrote it. I exclaimed "this is fantastic, when is the next update?!" and then realized I was the writer. The next update is whenever I finish it. Ugh.
It’s usually only when I share it and receive compliments a lot on it. Someone said it inspired them to write recently and I have been RIDING that high.
Your second sentiment may be an indication that you came to read your writing through the lens of the status quo (which the best writing tends to transgress in one way or another).
Yes. And vice versa.
This happens with my ideas when I leave the shower tbh.
My goddamn zombie screenplay for my thesis.
Yeah but then the negative thought overshadow that.
I'll write something and think "This is going okay." I'll come back a month or six months later for re-writing and think "Wow, this is not good." Once I'm done with the final draft, a few years later I'll re-read it and think "Bugger me, how come I can't write like this any more?" I'm in awe of my high school self. He was bloody good, and prolific as hell.
Yes, I got a contract on the webnovel in just 2 days. I thought I was pretty damn good back then.
I determine that by upvotes
yep that's why i dont like to look back over my writing until I need to. One of the best habits I've developed is walking away on a high note for the day
My two writings moods are either “Wow I’m literally the best writer in the world” or “That was the worst writing in the world” and then I try my hardest to continue and come back to it later.
I thought that about this ( https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/mj82jv/wp_the_worlds_first_true_ai_would_like_nothing/gtbju0v/ ), but I never really got feedback on it.
Aw fuck yeah, when I’m working out an idea for a plot point and it’s taking a while (like DAYS) and I finally land it. One of the best feelings ever.
Only with some poems.
We have all been there. You just have to be patient with yourself.
Actually I'm pretty proud of some of the stuff I've written recently.
So relatable, I randomly have a spike in confidence before it all comes crashing down because of one line which I thought was cringe...
That's a daily practice for writers of all levels. Have two books to my name; still do it lol.
I've used a few of my published stories in English lessons I taught, because I prefer to show and not tell.
Just when I'm out of the flow.
Not quite yet, hope to get there though! Lol
Only the first part. Not familiar with the second except in cases of "I could've done this or that better" but it's specific detail things, not overall
I never feel good about my writing. I write in fear of being both boring and poorly constructed. I try to get in move fast and get out before the reader has a chance to consider what they are reading.
Only every time. I have to work on new pages every time I write or my last paragraph kills my ego
I lost my dog, a gift from grandpa . I wrote it a poem to feel some closure. I felt like a genius
No 🥹
>You ever finish ~~writing~~ something and think: “Damn I’m good!” Yes!
I'm currently in the "Damn, I'm good" phase, hopefully that stays the case XD
Yes happened to me. I was 16 when I wrote this extremely vast novel which got so popular among my friends and classmates that people started to read and get back to me Know that it was a hand written novel it was not typed but legit written in this fat ass book Which got circulated everywhere People even had queues for the same We were all teens I completely forgot about it when life happened Now I’m 22 I found it the other day and I started reading it I was quite impressed and cringed at the same time lol It was this beautiful perfect love story that is insanely delusional I believe it’s so delusional that’s I can release it as a sarcastic novel over a romance novel lol
Every time tbh
Why are you attacking me?
Write drunk, edit sober.
I’m a firm believer in protecting before the fall so I’ll usually just say : “hey that’s not half bad”. Though normally I say “Oh shit! Why did I think THAT would be good to write
I often read what I wrote and I can just see it's sloppy, I'm a begginer so I guess it's normal, bad would be If I couldn't find anything wrong.
Yeah sometimes 🙂
Still hasn’t happened to me but I hope one day it will!
I've never thought I was good haha Only that I somewhat enjoyed the results. But that quickly turns into disgust when I go back to it later.
This happened when I tried writing a book when I was 11. I remember thinking how innovative and good the plot was. Came back to it years later and now I can't even read that thing without questioning my existence. Don't want to read but also couldn't delete(was too nostalgic).
Can I ask how or where you turned in your work to be reviewed? I'm fairly new to writing and close to finishing a short story, and I have no clue what to do after I'm done.