Do read your old work.

Dear Reader,

I know a lot of people give writing advice. A number of them have told me over the years that I should not go back and re-read my old work. I am a rebel and ignored that advice. Honestly, while some of it was pretty bad... Ok, some of it was really awful compared to what I can do now, a lot of it was pretty good for where I was at at the time in my writing life.

I'm pretty sure that if I had a blog in 1996, it would look a lot worse than what I am writing now. I had less experience. But, for someone at that point in my life, I think it would have looked pretty good because I was writing all the time and focusing on trying to improve my skills all the time. I have kept all of my writing journals and all of my personal journals since I began journal writing. I'm only missing three out of approximately twenty five years of work. One was stolen. One was lost while moving and the third was destroyed right in front of me by someone who was angry with what I had written in it.

Why have I kept all of this stuff? There's a few reasons. One is I am honestly and legitimately terrified of dementia and losing my memories. That is part of why I started keeping a journal when I was a kid. I watched Alzheimer's disease destroy family members that I loved and it was terrifying. So, I started keeping a diary. That was the one that got destroyed because I was writing things that made someone angry. (Never leave your diary or personal journal out where someone who has a grudge can get into it. If you have no choice, put it somewhere that people can't tell which book it is. Alternate option, find creative hiding places.)

Another reason why I keep a journal is because it helps me process things happening in my life. My life has been complicated, tragic, and challenging at various times. My journal is a major tool for how I make sense of it all. I've used it as a therapeutic exercise to handle crisis and the fall out from crisis. As a person with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, my journal has been a really useful tool in tracking things like what trigger's flashbacks and getting to the heart of how to resolve the issues raised by the trauma.

Finally, I keep a journal because it is a place where I can experiment and grow with my writing style. This is what my writing journal is for. I confess, I have fallen out of practice from writing poetry and doing prompt writing. One of my goals for the new year is to get back into it. My old writing journals are a treasure trove of ideas. Some of them are just in need of a bit of polishing to be worthy of being shared with you. Others need some major overhaul and reconsideration. But, keeping a writing journal has been perhaps one of the most worthwhile parts of my writing life. It is where I have grown and experimented to grow some more.

If I never wrote another blog entry on writing, I would be satisfied with this one. Because the old refrain about 'never read your old work' is just plain wrong. Your old work is like a scrapbook of memories of where you have been in your journey as an author. It is a snapshot of what was going on in your life at the time you wrote it and it is special because you wrote it. Your work is special. It doesn't matter what medium it is in. It is special and valuable because you created it.