Feeling A Little Reflective

It's funny: I've been writing here for six years, and you never really notice how much your writing improves until you go back and look at the older writing you've done.

I have some articles that I thought were the pinnacle of writitude when I wrote them. I look back now and absolutely cringe. I started pruning old articles out that were written to be "edgy" and just turned out to sound like a ten-year-old's idea of what edgy was supposed to be, or articles that were trying to sound like a homeless man's Bill Simmons.

For example, the other day I decided to write an article about No One Lives Forever. I went back to look at an old post I had about it and was absolutely mortified. If I could have gone back in time and punched my past self for being an idiot, I would have. I deleted the post right away because it was just so mind-bogglingly stupid that I couldn't imagine living in a world where somewhere something that lame was something I had written.

I think it all comes down to this: If you want to get good at something, do it, keep doing it and don't stop until you get good at it. Listen to criticism (but don't beat yourself up over it) and learn from your mistakes. Look at your older work and see what worked and what didn't. Edit yourself. Be yourself. Use your influences as a guide but not as a template. Don't expect success overnight.

And above all, if you're going to write, don't put two spaces after your sentences. It makes them look all janky.