It’s always an eyeopening experience to edit older stories. For one, I will discover ideas that I had long forgotten about. Aside from polishing the punctuation, grammar, and word choice, the stories are written in such a way that they made sense at the time that they were written, but as they stand now, it’s clear what ideas work and which ones don’t.
When I edit older stories, I usually add more layers to it, and clarify scenes, and improve the dialogue. In some cases, I’ll change the ending if the current one doesn’t match the theme I want it to convey. Often times, the story will increase in word count as I add details that I didn’t notice were missing before. Sure, I’ll cut out a lot of stuff too, but compared to what I add, it’s usually less.
There’s rarely a case when I’ll reread something I wrote and not find something that I’d want to fix or change. As I read more books and write more stories, I continually expand upon my knowledge and sense of what sounds right or doesn’t sound right when it comes to editing. It’s not just about correcting the technical aspects, such as punctuation and grammar, but in enhancing the elements that come with an awareness of what is effective, consistent, and plausible in terms of characters, dialogue, and the narrative sequence of a story.
Fallton Havenstonne 