A Reunion With Yourself

I've been getting to know the myself of ten years ago again this last week. 

How? Because I'm rewriting the first of the TV Detective series at the request of a new publisher, which is great. 

But wow - the things you discover about how you used to be. 

I have found - 

I was much more wordy then. 

I described characters too literally - what they looked like, rather than their aura. 

I went on too much about place and surroundings, rather than getting on with the story. 

I thought I was funny. 

Ok, I still think I'm funny, but hopefully I've got a bit better at expressing that now. 

Don't get me wrong, the book's still got a good story, with strong characters, and I'm enjoying reliving it all. It's just that it could be better. 

Which is why I'm reworking it.

One of the oddities of writing is how it allows you to look back years and get a sense of the person you were then from your books. It's like a living record of your life. 

But the most uplifting thing is seeing how you've improved as a writer. It makes all the hard work feel so worthwhile.