The Old, the Bad and the Useful

This weekend, I was going through my archive of written books, chapters and scenes that never quite made it into the submission world and, in some cases, never made it past a couple of scenes. I was looking for a specific ballroom scene I knew I'd written and was wondering if I could use in my current wip.

What I came across was the first three chapters of a medieval scottish, written many, many years ago that was just so... bad. I can't even use the excuse that my voice has changed, matured beyond comfortable recognistion, etc this was just plain bad writing. To be kind, I'll consider it a learning experience that has led to better things. I must admit that I did read over it with a kind of fond, if cringing, nostalgia... imagine your thirtish something self going glancing over photos of your akward, teenage self :)

I did find my ballroom scene and something extra - that scene had two side characters I'd completely forgotten about and I have the perfect opening for their grand debut in my wip. I love this kind of find, the discovery that even back then when I was honing my craft and learning the ins and outs of writing and publishing, my imagination could still dream up a delightful character or two and place them in a horrid dilemma.