I always like thinking back at the time when I published previous stories. As long as I don't re-read them, I think of them somewhat highly. When I re-read them … well … I also cringe. When it's about spelling and grammar, I'm open to hints from my readers and like to correct them (spelling and grammar, not necessarily my readers ^^) if I'm not too lazy at that moment. I found that Grammarly is a good help with finding these errors.

When it's more about logic or the like, I wouldn't correct that. I think, it can be seen as a measurement of my own development as an author and I should adhere to my own shortcomings.

8 hours ago, Zuri said:

I always like thinking back at the time when I published previous stories. As long as I don't re-read them, I think of them somewhat highly. When I re-read them … well … I also cringe. When it's about spelling and grammar, I'm open to hints from my readers and like to correct them (spelling and grammar, not necessarily my readers ^^) if I'm not too lazy at that moment. I found that Grammarly is a good help with finding these errors.

When it's more about logic or the like, I wouldn't correct that. I think, it can be seen as a measurement of my own development as an author and I should adhere to my own shortcomings.

I think that by going over my earlier stories it's a form of self criticism which helps me to appreciate what my own shortcomings are. By doing this I hope to improve which I believe I have. However although I'm sure that I have improved, I am equally sure that there is still plenty of room for improvement, and probably always will be. 

When I came to GA I considered myself a reader not a writer, I still do not consider myself a writer. I am a reader who may occasionally write and using it as a learning experience. I think I'm doing okay for someone who had irregular - and in some ways incomplete - education growing up and leaving school with minimal qualifications.

My thoughts are just a personal perspective and not necessarily right or wrong.

Oh man. I was just talking to another author about this. While posting my current story, my first story saw an uptick of reads. I love my first story, it's my baby, but oh boy...I can't even get through it! I have left it alone, grammar and all. It's a testament to how far I've come. Also, I was new to posting and my chapter lengths are CRAZY long. Way too time consuming to go through and do edits lol.

Thanks @Zuri and @Mrsgnomie for your thoughts and opinions, it's always good to get someone else's input on things. Maybe I should give it more thought before I go any further. Most of my stories are inter connected which does get some readers going back to them when I post a new one, that's what got me to thinking about editing the earlier postings. You have both given me something to think about, thank you.

@Mancunian Always happy to share my thought!

10 hours ago, Mancunian said:

However although I'm sure that I have improved, I am equally sure that there is still plenty of room for improvement, and probably always will be. 

Yeah, I guess, there'll always be room for all of us. That's part of the fun, isn't it?

35 minutes ago, Mancunian said:

Thanks @Zuri and @Mrsgnomie for your thoughts and opinions, it's always good to get someone else's input on things. Maybe I should give it more thought before I go any further. Most of my stories are inter connected which does get some readers going back to them when I post a new one, that's what got me to thinking about editing the earlier postings. You have both given me something to think about, thank you.

I don't think it's something you need to over think either. If you have time and want to clean up grammar and such, do it. If you want to leave it as-is as a testament, that's great, too. There is no right or wrong here, just what works for you. I've found it fascinating to go back and see just how much my style has changed. If I decided to clean it up, I wouldn't be able to look back and see how many times I used 'that' in my other stories. The only thing I did clean up, with a simple search and replace and no regrets, I might add, is the sheer volume of exclamation points. It's embarrassing really. I don't want to talk about it.

4 minutes ago, Mrsgnomie said:

I don't think it's something you need to over think either. If you have time and want to clean up grammar and such, do it. If you want to leave it as-is as a testament, that's great, too. There is no right or wrong here, just what works for you. I've found it fascinating to go back and see just how much my style has changed. If I decided to clean it up, I wouldn't be able to look back and see how many times I used 'that' in my other stories. The only thing I did clean up, with a simple search and replace and no regrets, I might add, is the sheer volume of exclamation points. It's embarrassing really. I don't want to talk about it.

Also, the comments were written in the original context. By changing the text, it might be hard to relate to the original situation and envision it.

If I were to rewrite my story, I'd like to do it as a kind of anniversary special or the like, rather than changing the text already posted.

1 minute ago, Zuri said:

Also, the comments were written in the original context. By changing the text, it might be hard to relate to the original situation and envision it.

If I were to rewrite my story, I'd like to do it as a kind of anniversary special or the like, rather than changing the text already posted.

This is valid. A re-write would be a different level compared to a 'clean up'. I have no desire to re-write any of my old works. Which, now that I'm thinking about it, is probably the root of why I haven't touched them at all. Cleaning up grammar could quickly snowball into a re-write lol.

As a reader, I've never been a big fan of re-write. There's a story on here that I love and have read many times. It got abandoned and then the author started posting a re-written version from scratch. It was a bummer because I was attached to the original. Was some of the re-writes better? Sure, they had matured as a writer, but I didn't like it.

I stumbled onto this blog by @Mancuniansort of by accident this morning, but this topic raises four thoughts which I'd like to share:

1)  I, too, cringe at the errors - and often at the missed opportunities.  As to the stories, the further back I look, the more I cringe.  But no story will ever be perfect, and one finally needs to learn to live with that.

2)  Usually, when I'm done writing a story, I'm so sick of proofreading and editing it looks like bathwater to me and I wonder if it's worth posting.  Which is one reason why GA is so great, because the feedback makes one feel a lot better  

3)  A while back, I read through a story I had written a couple of years earlier in order to make sure my "facts" were right in a sequel.  It's the longest story I ever wrote, and about fifteen chapters in, I realized I was so absorbed in the story I had forgotten my mission.  So, rereading can sometimes be a positive experience. 👍

4)  In my opinion, an editor is vital - someone to catch the typos, grammar problems, and to perform a reality check.  I've worked with and without, and with is always better.  In particular, @Brayonwas extremely helpful a few years back encouraging me to get a little sensory information and emotion included, and to quit writing like a computer programmer.  For a couple of more recent years, @MJChas caught the errors I've missed, made sure my descriptions make sense to others, and kept me in line when I moved from improbable to impossible.  

5 minutes ago, Backwoods Boy said:

I stumbled onto this blog by @Mancuniansort of by accident this morning, but this topic raises four thoughts which I'd like to share:

1)  I, too, cringe at the errors - and often at the missed opportunities.  As to the stories, the further back I look, the more I cringe.  But no story will ever be perfect, and one finally needs to learn to live with that.

2)  Usually, when I'm done writing a story, I'm so sick of proofreading and editing it looks like bathwater to me and I wonder if it's worth posting.  Which is one reason why GA is so great, because the feedback makes one feel a lot better  

3)  A while back, I read through a story I had written a couple of years earlier in order to make sure my "facts" were right in a sequel.  It's the longest story I ever wrote, and about fifteen chapters in, I realized I was so absorbed in the story I had forgotten my mission.  So, rereading can sometimes be a positive experience. 👍

4)  In my opinion, an editor is vital - someone to catch the typos, grammar problems, and to perform a reality check.  I've worked with and without, and with is always better.  In particular, @Brayonwas extremely helpful a few years back encouraging me to get a little sensory information and emotion included, and to quit writing like a computer programmer.  For a couple of more recent years, @MJChas caught the errors I've missed, made sure my descriptions make sense to others, and kept me in line when I moved from improbable to impossible.  

Thanks for commenting @Backwoods Boy, having an editor does make big positive difference, as does a beta reader. The couple of times that I have had the assistance of an editor have been good, positive and appreciated. It's definitely something I would consider again in the future.