avoidy talk

[roxy]

I'm wanting to post some of the very older SV stories at AO3. I'm looking at Boys of Summer right now and ouch--there's some rough spots there. For those of you who repost older stuff, how much editing do you do? I've never really done much more than correct spelling mistakes (or the bane of my life, it's/its), but rereading this story I see some character mistakes...mind you, it was written in 2004--started in 2004, that thing was HUGE. What I'm wondering is, how much correcting would you do if it was your story? *g*

I can't stop myself from fixing major yaks, but I feel kind of shifty about it, like I'm trying to whisk my mistakes under the rug. Yeah, obsessing to keep from thinking about real stuff. *g*

Comments

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

In my SV fic, I'm mostly going through and pulling out epithets and adverbs (I used 'slightly' almost every other sentence), shortening sentences, replacing passive verbs, etc. It's mostly grammar and spelling I'm hitting. I did rework a couple scenes, but I kept it mostly intact (I added stuff to a Clark/Lionel scene).

However, my SPN Mary Sue fic (don't judge) has had some major rewrites (I figured no one would care). I also have an Angel fic that I've been rewriting for years. I have a feeling I will never end up posting it, but I feel a lot better about it than I did for years after I posted it.

Long story long, I say if something bugs you enough that you want to fix it, go for it. It's your story and if it makes you happy, go for happiness.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. I guess I was looking at it as a time capsule of my stuff, sort of 'my, how I've grown' except some things really BUGGED THE HELL out of me, lol!! So, I'm gonna go with a little light editing! :)

[jesseofthenorth.livejournal.com]

I edit the shit our of it before I repost to A03.... if I feel like it needs it. I only post my faves at A03 though.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking now that I'm going to clean it up to bring it a little more in line with the newer fics.

Also, I've pretty much decided to post *all* the SV stuff there since I really love those fics. They're all them deep pits of angsty, bodice-ripping suffering and despair--even the "humorous" ones, hah! Ah, the old days, when writing was a ton of fun and self-inserts ran rampant through my stories....

[danceswithgary]

I haven't edited anything, once it's posted as complete I pretty much leave it as-is. My WIPs are fair game, however - I edit those constantly and have to go back and update the posts.

It's your story, though. You should do whatever you feel comfortable with.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, but you came out the gate knowing what you were doing. I wrote for some time before my friends took pity and gave a girl a hand. Everything I know about writing, you guys taught me. Some of the early stories are kind of...squeaky. *G* But I guess it's okay to clean up some of the really *rough* edges on this thing. :)

[lexalicious70.livejournal.com]

Hemingway said, "The first draft of anything is shit." I wouldn't be afraid to change what feels wrong for you at all.

it's/its is a pain in the rump, isn't it??

Thinking of you, hon. *SMISH*

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

it's/its is a pain in the rump, isn't it??

omg YES. I wish I had an alarm that would go off every time I get it wrong...also every time I try to write everytime as one word...oy, the list goes on!

*SHNUGGLES*

[rednihilist.livejournal.com]

Well, I say take serafina's and everyone's fine advice here, and just make the story more what you were going for in the first place. You wrote it for you in the first place, right? Kind of? If it would make you happy or prouder, or if changing something(s) would make the story itself better in your opinion, then go for it, hon! Yours is the only take that really matters, after all. That's one of the perks of fanfic: you can continually adjust things, and get that story back on the road if it starts to drift into oncoming traffic.

And, on a personal note, I edited CFMWH quite a bit before I put it up on AO3. I went over the details at the beginning of the story that I'd maybe shifted, or in some cases full-on retconned, by the end of it -- itty bitty things like Lin's hair, or what day of the week it was, all the way up to rewriting some dialogue/monologue of Lionel's that was, in all honesty, just horrendous. So have at it! I for one can't wait for it to be up there, so I can read it again! It's been a year or two, so I'm due. :)

*pets*

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

oh, see that makes me feel better. And thanks for reminding me who I wrote the fic for. At the time, I was enormously pleased with myself, but now I can see where I waffle a bit with the characters and forgot events I started with. Man, that's a recurrent problem with me. *pout*

*HUGS* Ach, beloved, thanks a million for the egoboo! *GGGG*

[rednihilist.livejournal.com]

At the time, I was enormously pleased with myself, but now I can see where I waffle a bit with the characters and forgot events I started with.

*points* THIS! Yes, so much this. Man, almost everything I've written leaves me with that ambivalent feeling.

*happysigh* I love when you post. It almost always makes me feel ten times better. *snuggles*

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

*tacklehugs*

[portraitofafool.livejournal.com]

I edit like an editing thing, so I say go for it if that's what you feel like you want to do. I have fics that I am still editing years after having finished them, it's just a... ah... thing with me. Like--for an example--I rewrote the end of my latest fic about four times, the last time being only a few days ago and I did it in the entry box right on LJ. So, maybe I am not the best giver of advice in this situation. I do stick by my first reaction though: If you feel it needs editing then go for it and sometimes it's a matter of perspective in that you've been through with that fic for a few years now and because of that, you're looking at with fresh eyes. That can be really beneficial I think.

AO3 is also a bigger forum for sharing fic than say, LJ or DW, so yanno, doing a little extra clean up on fics is also like... making the kids dress nice for company or something. (Oh, my at how bad that example probably is.) I post in drips and drabbles over there and so far, I have only posted my favorites, but I think I will eventually end up posting all of my stuff (aside from my bandom writings because just. no.) there since I like to have it all archived and easy to find.

So get out your red pen o'doom and show that SV fic who's boss. That, I do believe, was my point all along. Prolly should've just said that to begin with, huh? /rambling :D

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

I usually go over something a few times myself--I've been trapped in the sticky pit of rewrites on many stories--there's always room for improvement, but sometimes I go overboard.

This fic is an interesting reread. At the time I finished it I thought, wow, this is really pretty good. And now I'm mostly wincing. Still, I think I'll leave some of the clunkiness and post the date it was written and pretend like Lawks, yes, I've gotten soooooooo much better! 'Cause you know, heck yeah, I got better.

Rambling comments are like chocolate truffles, tasty and happy making.

[ciaan]

Yay for putting up all the fic!

I think if you're reposting years later to a new site and you edit, that's fine, but it can be good to add a note like "originally posted in 2004, this is a revised version" or something.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

oh, that's a good idea! I've been putting the original post dates at the end of the fics but most of what I've posted is pretty recent stuff. If I do a major revision(which omg i doubt) that's a perfect way to let them know changes have been made, especially for folks who might have read the original.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

I don't have much of a back catalog (at ALL!), but I leapt at the opportunity to clean up a few little things that had always bugged me.

If you're like me, you know where the real rough spots are. If a light sanding is possible, I'd do it. If a fix requires restructuring, probably not.

I'm glad you're thinking of archiving on the AO3!

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

I *love* the AO3! It let me download all of Restraint into my kindle so that I'll always have it! And it's so easy to use, omg, even I can do it and you know how easy it is for me to wrestle technology from a simple thing into a techno-slavering beast out for my heart's blood.

This story I'm thinking of is...oy, it needs a little sanding. A little spackling and some painting and maybe the foundation lifted a bit but I love the goofy old thing and the only place it's at now is SSA and I'm not sure how long that will be around. I worked too hard on it not to lure people into reading it. *looks all shifty-eyed*

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

The AO3 feature of downloading to a mobile reader format in one great big file is the sweetest thing about it (or possibly the second sweetest after the ability to search for fic that scratches a particular itch). A completely non-fannish and non-technical friend of mine, on expressing a wish to read Restraint, was able to get it on her Kindle, and that is the only way I would have ever convinced her to give it a look.

So yes, I think putting your back catalog on the AO3 is a great lure!

[oliver95.livejournal.com]

If this is the one I'm thinking of with Lex as 'Red' and Whitney as abused, then I'm surprised you think you think it needs work. I'm sure I've read it twice and enjoyed it enormously both times. You seem to be able to get into the mind of pre and teenage boys beautifully.

However, it is an excuse to read it again try to find something about the character writing to criticise, but I'll probably end up wishing I could write as consistently well as you did then.

Not much help, I'm afraid.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

If this is the one I'm thinking of with Lex as 'Red' and Whitney as abused, then I'm surprised you think you think it needs work. I'm sure I've read it twice and enjoyed it enormously both times.

Wow--that made me ridiculously happy!! Thank you so much, yes, that's the one. I'm finding as I'm picking through it it's not as bad as I thought--I think it's mostly shift in style, and knowing more about things now than I did then, thanks to my friends. :) I'm finding that my SpN stories need more work than my SV stories, hah!

Thanks again, I'm so pleased that you remembered Red!

[simplelyric.livejournal.com]

I write so differently now from how I did when I started a dozen or so years ago. I think that if I even considered editing some of the older stuff, I'd be too tempted to give it a complete overhaul, and that's just a minefield for time usage as well as for mental health. Those stories I'll have to reread and decide whether they're simply too cringe-worthy to draw any more attention to them or whether I like them enough to be able to live with them potentially gaining more readers as they are.

Anything newer or that I know I was fairly happy with at the time of original posting -- especially stories that had thorough betas -- I'll probably put on the AO3 as-is, aside from any necessary formatting adjustments. It takes a long time, for me at least, even using the Import tool, to get everything how I want it on there, though. The meadowlion fic LJ is still going to be my primary posting spot at this point other than for challenge fics that are part of collections like Yuletide.