Putting rewrites on the back burner

Save those re-writes for filler in writer's block moments.

Just the other day, I was thinking how tired I am of publishing rewrites from closed venues and how much I am looking forward to all those being done. For some reason, my little ABC order brain was blocking me from moving on. Then, I realized a few things that made me feel that putting rewrites on the back burner is not only OK, it's imperative.

I don't do well with “have to's.”

Even when I dictate those “have to's” to myself, I am discouraged by them. They slow me down. They are uninspiring. They stifle my creativity. They mess with the natural flow of my thought processes. In short, anything I have to do is an admittedly ironic hindrance to getting it done.

They're not going anywhere.

Those articles are just sitting in my queue, taking up space and that bothers my organized side a bit. Still, it took me years to write them, so what makes me think I can get them all rewritten to suit other venues in a matter of months? It won't hurt them to sit there until the mood strikes me. They're just articles. They don't have feelings. LOL

There's no guarantee that my best sellers will sell well again.

Like many other writers who have been the victim of site closings, I have some articles that made me consistent money in page views on a regular basis. I was having a real hard time scrambling to make sure that at least those best sellers were utilized elsewhere. Surprise! Some of the best articles I had on closed properties are doing terribly on new venues. So, why am I in such a hurry? I need to concentrate on moving forward.

Nobody enjoys reading old news.

The news in some of my old articles is out-dated. Some of the subject matter is too. Plus, who wants to read the same article twice? I'm sure that my readers would appreciate me producing more newer, relevant articles instead. Oh, I'll throw a few oldies in here and there. But, all in all, piquing the interest of my readers usually entails providing new information, thoughts and tips. While those old articles are great as jumping off points, many of them just don't stand the test of time without a ton of revision.

Life stages

I'm in a stage of life where I am re-evaluating everything I do to make life more enjoyable. Call it a mid-life crisis if you will. Personally, though, I look at it as living life the way I should have been all along. My writing is a big part of my life. Why shouldn't I do everything I can to make it more enjoyable for both myself and my readers? And sure, rewrites are easier than new articles. But if they don't pique my interest or that of my readers, why not time them so they do instead of rushing to get them done? Did you hear that? That was the sound of a brick hitting my head. Duh. Moving forward is always better than dwelling on the past.