Welcome to the Elsewhere, a place I can later go to look back and see how little I knew about writing when I decided to write about it. Even now, I look back at my earlier works and often cringe.

And then, there are those that I doubt I can better, even now.

We all have our flukes. Even the most successful author can let a stinker slip out every so often. However, I look back at my 'earlier age', back when I was clueless and awkward. I see far more 'hits' than I would expect for a rookie. In fact, some of those 'hits' are stronger than what I write now.

Mind you, 'hit' and 'strong' are subjective. As I've previously covered, my first goal when writing is to entertain. My only yardstick for 'entertainment value' is myself, so I'm obviously writing for me, to quote that old saw. I can't speak for anyone else with any certainty, but I do try to shape my writing so it has what I think to be the best chance of appealing to the most people.

Maybe it's a matter of knowledge. "The more I learn, the more I learn there is to learn." Maybe I'm just judging my new stuff harsher, now that I know more of how things are supposed to be? Maybe I'm looking back on the stories of old with rose-misted eyes? Not just reading them, but remembering that adolescent burst of initial pride for writing something, anything, that made some low mark?

Perhaps I moved on, so my style is no longer compatible with this type of story-telling? If so, then why do I enjoy reading it so? I don't know. I don't have an answer.

What I do know is this: the more I learn about writing, the more burdensome it seems, the less fun. The more I know about what should go in a story, and what should not, the more time I spend worrying about what should go in a story (and what should not.)

As I write, as I read with authors' eyes, even as I talk/type with other writers, I will make more observations on writing. I can't help it. I want to better myself. I'm sure you do too, else you'd not be wasting your time reading another author pontificate on writing.

The trick here is to view these tips as tools. Think of the average handyman, mechanic or plumber. They have some tools they keep on their belt. They have others they keep in the tote, and still others in some massive toolchest.

Same with these tips. I think I'm going to try to categorize them. Some I will keep always on mind, such as 'internal consistency' and 'watch your tense.' Others I'll keep away from the first draft because they may not apply until later, such as 'make the character memorable' -- if I don't have the full story ahead of me, I won't know what opportunity is best to make the story memorable.

This way, I don't turn my back on my hard-earned observations. (No, they're not truisms because I'm not sure about them. Even if I am, they may only work for me.) I just have to try to figure out which tool goes where.