So, I'm doing another creative writing-related thing this month. Admittedly, it's a thing I'm embarrassed to admit I've never done before despite an entire lifetime of writing. I'm actually working with the raw manuscript I created during NaNoWriMo last November to get it edited from start to finish. These days, NaNoWriMo hosts an additional Camp NaNoWriMo event twice a year in April and July, where writers are allowed to set their own goals. I got an email about this year's April event a while back and -- since I, of course, still haven't gotten around to editing my last batch of work under my own power -- I decided to go for it.
Since editing goes a heck of a lot faster than raw writing does, especially when I'm editing my own stuff, I haven't had to be as diligent about doing it every day. (I'm a very clean writer, even when I'm flying by the seat of my pants, so editing is often more like proofreading than anything else.) I've been keeping up really well regardless, though, and have everything a little less than half-done. I'll definitely be able to "win" the event and come out of it with a fully edited collection of short stories. Then they'll all be ready to use, submit, or publish in the future.
I'm starting to feel... almost grown-up these days as far as my writing goes. First, I started making actual money writing things I wanted to write for a change. Now I've not only stuck with a long-form writing project long enough to finish it, but I've also managed to get back to it and tackle the editing. I gave up on the idea of longer writing projects a long time ago, as I thought I didn't have the attention span necessary to finish one. I'm thrilled to see I was apparently wrong about that.
And the process of reading back through all these little stories has been a pleasant surprise. Most writers complain about going back to old material they've written and finding that they hate every single word of it. I'm having the exact opposite experience. I've been away from these ideas long enough to not entirely remember every little detail of how they play out, so they're almost like new to me. And... they're actually good. Some of them are very good, even if I do say so myself.
