1. I do not remember writing this opening paragraph.
2. It’s not that good, is it? It’s probably fine. It’s not TERRIBLE.
3. Isn’t the first line the most important sentence in a book? Ugh.
4. I should probably read past the first line before I psych myself out.
5. I do remember this part. I thought I might want to change it, but maybe not.
6. Ha! That was kind of funny. Not lame. I giggled. That has to count for something.
7. Aaaand that, on the other hand, was not funny. Deleting.
8. Wait, no! I might regret that. Just highlight it.
9. Maybe highlight that too.
10. OK stop highlighting or you’ll highlight the whole thing and highlighting will mean nothing.
11. This character is pretty stupid, should I keep her?
12. That transition was awkward. I like these scene but it doesn’t belong here.
13. IT DOESN’T EVEN GO HERE
14. Focus. There are already too many Grey’s Anatomy references, no room for more references.
15. There is also a Star Wars reference. I have a problem.
16. Maybe this isn’t as scary/awful as I thought it would be.
17. I can’t wait to outline all this. I have no idea if it actually makes sense outside my head.
18. And that’s where I started skipping around. I’m going to regret that. How was I going to finish this part before?
19. There’s a lot of bad writing in here, but I have some ideas to make it better, eventually.
20. I think I really can do this. I’m not ready to walk away (yet).
21. Alright. Now I actually have to finish writing this thing. AAAAHHHHHHHHHH
Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a staff writer with The Cheat Sheet, a freelance editor and writer, and a 10-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food and nerdy things.
Meg Dowell Writes 
This is really good. Thank you for sharing this. 😀
You’re very welcome. Thank YOU for reading and sharing your thoughts with me. :)
Funny! Thanks for sharing. I had some of those thoughts looking back on old stories I wrote years ago. Although, my thoughts also ran to “eesh… I actually wrote that?”
Haha I’ve had that thought too. It’s terrifying to realize you can’t keep everything you originally wrote. STRESSSSS
Sounds like me when I revise my work, or at least when I was a new writer. I try not to critize myself too much.
Same … a little self-criticism is actually a good thing though. Keeps you self-aware.
So true!
I’m anxious about getting back to some rough drafts in my folders…
YOU CAN DO ITTTTTT :)
Gah! It’s like you’re in my head. Except the Star Wars reference thing. I don’t reference Star Wars. Maybe I should. *picks up blaster, heads for X-wing*
I mean, it just so happens that one of the characters is a fan and the movies help him cope with how sucky his life is. It happened before I could stop it and now I can’t get rid of it because the story would fall apart without it…oops. :P
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