Argh

[indri]

I've just reread, for the first time in years, this novel I abandoned halfway-through when I was working on my PhD.

I used to write much better than I do now. It's depressing.

I should probably try to complete it, now the PhD's done. But only once I've finished those damned fanfics.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/peasant_/]

I feel oddly responsible ;o)

Having spent years trying to learn to trust my own judgement when writing, I have now come to the conclusion that judgement of ones own writing is as variable as the ability to write - so I am now painfully training myself not to pay too much attention to my own opinion. I'll let you know if the method works.

[indri]

I feel oddly responsible

Oh, it's entirely self-inflicted :)

I still like many of the sentences and paragraphs of the novel, but I now see that whole subplots are naive and fit poorly in with the rest. I suppose this is an extreme example of the "put it away in a drawer for a week" school of self-editing.

I have now come to the conclusion that judgement of ones own writing is as variable as the ability to write

I am laughing ruefully at this because it sounds all too true :)

I am now painfully training myself not to pay too much attention to my own opinion

But how can that work? You need some level of self-judgement to help you shape the work. I can imagine doing that if one raced through a first draft before contemplating revision, but IIRC neither of us take that approach to writing.

I'll let you know if the method works.

Please do!