At the age of 19, I realize that I have been writing short stories and angst ridden poetry for the past six years now, and I’ve never finished any of these snippets that have been lost somewhere among the recycle bin and unorganized clutter my old laptop’s files. Today it hit me that it was wrong of me to abandon these stories, and that even if I chose to not continue writing them, I should have kept them in a folder of some sort to be able to look back and reflect on them.
I feel as though for any kind of artist, it is critical to be able to look back at your early works and truly embrace the improvement you’ve made. Being able to see how far you have come is a good way to boost your confidence and clear your mind of any doubts you have about whether or not your skills have developed.
When I think back to some of the things I wrote in seventh grade, I want to promptly throw myself off a very tall building. My writing skills were undeveloped, and my spelling was nearly illegible. Though these are negative traits, it puts into perspective how far I’ve come in my writing. When I started out, I didn’t have any grasp of basic concepts, and now I have developed my own voice and way of writing. Thinking about how much I’ve developed since I was 13 is encouraging, and makes me want to continue writing to further develop my skills.
Though there are times I have absolutely considered giving up on my writing, I know that won’t do anything to help me. Throwing out my work in progress won’t help me to get around that writers block, and when I do want to continue that story again, it will only cause regret because my initial thoughts will be “why the hell did I throw that out, I don't know what to do now!” This is frustrating and unfortunately, I’ve made this exact mistake in the past.
The best thing to do, even when you feel it is time to give up, is keep writing. If you feel you can’t write any more of your current story, move onto a new one, but don’t delete what you already have down. I’ve found that at times I am able to meld what I already have together with something I’m currently writing, and it comes out great! Always try to keep developing your skills, and never accept defeat, as it messes you up in the long run.
