Growing Up

[Peg Herring]

Remember when you were a kid and didn't realize that every day made you less of one? Me neither.

Writers experience a similar phenomenon, I think. While there are undoubtedly a few Mozarts out there who write instinctively and perfectly from the cradle, most of us grow over time, often without fully realizing it.
I've heard really successful authors hint that they recognize weaknesses in their early works, but there's no sense worrying about it. They're out there for everyone to see. You can't go back and say, "I'm better at this now. Let me fix a few of those really glaring errors."

I suppose we have to view our early works as we look back on ourselves as goofy teenagers. "I was young and stupid," we say, excusing our behavior. Look at it the other way: all those bad writing projects make you what you are today, a fully mature writer.

[Peg Herring]

I like the "sing their songs" idea, being one who sings, at least inside my head, every moment I'm awake!

[Donna Carrick]

For me, each novel so far has taught me at least one new skill. One taught me how to apply myself to meticulous research, not compromising, because the topic was too important. One taught me to write from deep within my personal core. Still another taught me to allow, in fact to encourage flaws in the characters I most loved.

They have all taught me, with practice, about the craft of words, how to manipulate them, how to edit them, and most importantly, how to let them sing their songs.

[I. J. Parker]

It has nothing to do with age. We change. Our ideas change. Our objectivity improves. So the books change and improve. Thank God.
Though even in retrospect and knowing that I cringe over many passages, each one of my early novels has had something that I did very well.