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Sam and Friends BookI was going to post this in the "Am I the Only One Thread", but I got to thinking that this really deserves to be it's own topic, considering MC is comprised of several, several creative, imaginative, and talented individuals who I'm sure would like to discuss in more detail such matters.
And for those of you who fit that bill, lemme ask you this... does there ever a point in time, when you look back on your work, you re-examine a particular project you've worked on, something that you put a lot of time and effort into, something that stands out among your work, something that at the time of it's completion you're really proud of it because it's like a (major) accomplishment of yours because it's a little different than what you're accustomed to and therefore you feel you succeeded at trying something new, only to find it cringeworthy later on? At any given time afterwards, like a couple of months, or maybe even a year or so, do you look back on some of what you've done that you thought was good at the time, but then think it's really pretty bad, and that you could have either done better, or you simply tried too hard in the first place?
I find myself in that realization from time to time, I think part of it has to do with my being a perfectionist, and a stickler for detail, everything I do has to be just, and I rarely find myself ever thinking that anything I do is actually as perfect as perfect can be. There are quite a few things I've done in the past that, to this day, I'm still quite proud of the results and everything, but sometimes, there's just certain things that I was proud of at the time, then look back on and I can't even bring myself to look through it because I think it's so bad... this seems to happen to me particularly when I do something that's a bit of a stretch for myself, like when it comes to writing for example: I write a lot, whether it's fanfics, or scripts, or material for my puppets, etc, and when it comes to writing, I generally stick with comedy, because it tends to get good reactions and response from people, and apparently some think I'm just a funny person in general, so I guess in a sense it comes to me more naturally, but once in a while, I like to challenge myself in new ways, and I'll try my hand at writing something serious for a change. I like to do this, because character development is something I enjoy, so I feel writing more serious stories allows me to delve deeper into a character's mind and explore what it is about them that makes them the way they are, or otherwise how they would handle being put in a situation they don't normally come across. Sometimes I feel I do a good job, but then sometimes not so much... like sometime in late 2008/2009 I wrote a really heavy and dramatic fanfict that, at the time, I was really proud of because I thought it was my best work as far as serious/dramatic writing goes, and it did seem to go over fairly well with readers and such... but after about a year or so, when I re-read it a couple of times, I found myself thinking I can't believe I actually wrote that... looking at it now, it seems like I tried way too hard at the seriousness of the plot, and a lot of the dramatics in the story seem forced and like I was pushing the envelope a little too far. I think at the time, I probably was trying a little too hard, because I rarely write serious stuff anyway, as it doesn't tend to get as much positive reaction as my usual comedy, though there have been occasions where my more serious writing is met with positivity.
Of course, it doesn't just apply to writing, it applies to a lot of my work as well... sometimes I look back on some things, like older Steve D'Monster videos I've done years ago, and I end up rolling my eyes and shaking my head at how cheesy they are and thinking they could've been so much better if I did them differently.
So what about the rest of you? Do you ever find yourself in this realization? Has there ever been a time you created something you thought was gold, only to look back on it and realize it isn't even copper? Do you ever look at some of things you've done and asked yourself what were you thinking?
And for those of you who fit that bill, lemme ask you this... does there ever a point in time, when you look back on your work, you re-examine a particular project you've worked on, something that you put a lot of time and effort into, something that stands out among your work, something that at the time of it's completion you're really proud of it because it's like a (major) accomplishment of yours because it's a little different than what you're accustomed to and therefore you feel you succeeded at trying something new, only to find it cringeworthy later on? At any given time afterwards, like a couple of months, or maybe even a year or so, do you look back on some of what you've done that you thought was good at the time, but then think it's really pretty bad, and that you could have either done better, or you simply tried too hard in the first place?
I find myself in that realization from time to time, I think part of it has to do with my being a perfectionist, and a stickler for detail, everything I do has to be just, and I rarely find myself ever thinking that anything I do is actually as perfect as perfect can be. There are quite a few things I've done in the past that, to this day, I'm still quite proud of the results and everything, but sometimes, there's just certain things that I was proud of at the time, then look back on and I can't even bring myself to look through it because I think it's so bad... this seems to happen to me particularly when I do something that's a bit of a stretch for myself, like when it comes to writing for example: I write a lot, whether it's fanfics, or scripts, or material for my puppets, etc, and when it comes to writing, I generally stick with comedy, because it tends to get good reactions and response from people, and apparently some think I'm just a funny person in general, so I guess in a sense it comes to me more naturally, but once in a while, I like to challenge myself in new ways, and I'll try my hand at writing something serious for a change. I like to do this, because character development is something I enjoy, so I feel writing more serious stories allows me to delve deeper into a character's mind and explore what it is about them that makes them the way they are, or otherwise how they would handle being put in a situation they don't normally come across. Sometimes I feel I do a good job, but then sometimes not so much... like sometime in late 2008/2009 I wrote a really heavy and dramatic fanfict that, at the time, I was really proud of because I thought it was my best work as far as serious/dramatic writing goes, and it did seem to go over fairly well with readers and such... but after about a year or so, when I re-read it a couple of times, I found myself thinking I can't believe I actually wrote that... looking at it now, it seems like I tried way too hard at the seriousness of the plot, and a lot of the dramatics in the story seem forced and like I was pushing the envelope a little too far. I think at the time, I probably was trying a little too hard, because I rarely write serious stuff anyway, as it doesn't tend to get as much positive reaction as my usual comedy, though there have been occasions where my more serious writing is met with positivity.
Of course, it doesn't just apply to writing, it applies to a lot of my work as well... sometimes I look back on some things, like older Steve D'Monster videos I've done years ago, and I end up rolling my eyes and shaking my head at how cheesy they are and thinking they could've been so much better if I did them differently.
So what about the rest of you? Do you ever find yourself in this realization? Has there ever been a time you created something you thought was gold, only to look back on it and realize it isn't even copper? Do you ever look at some of things you've done and asked yourself what were you thinking?
And where is your serious stuff posted? I don't recall seeing fics by you around; forgive my blindness.
