"Today I forced myself to reread some of my first published writing. I say forced because that’s what it takes; I absolutely cannot stand to revisit my early attempts at trying to sound like I know what the hell I’m talking about. It’s difficult
enough to reread recent work—I only do it if I have to. I despise everything I wrote yesterday. I hate this post already.
"I’m certainly not alone: reading your own writing seems an almost universal difficulty. We asked on
Twitter and Facebook if other writers feel the same as we do, and with only one or two exceptions, the response makes it clear that most writers struggle when revisiting their old work.
"WBN coach Kirstin Chen says that,
like me, she despises her own writing and doesn’t read it unless she has to. 'I haven’t even listened to the audio version of my book,' she tweeted. 'And I don’t think I ever will.'
About her own published work, Austin’s
Alyssa Harad tweeted that she’d 'prefer to forget about it entirely.'"
Do you have trouble
reading your own writing? Leave a comment to let us know!
