Rereading

Unless you’re a genius who gets the story publish-perfect on your first draft (in which case, I hate you just a little), you do reread your work at some point. For revision, if nothing else.

But what about reading your work for fun?

Some writers never do. The story is over and done. Why dwell on all the things you might have done differently and can no longer change? Why think about typos and awkward phrasings? And maybe by now you’re wholly sick of it.

Confession: I reread for fun sometimes. Not to edit, but for fun.

I write what I want to read (ever have the feeling you know what you want to read – the shape and texture of it – but can’t find anything like that on your bookshelves? That happens all the time to me) and I’m the type who likes to curl up with a familiar book. I love to read my favorites over and over again. It’s like rediscovering old friends, though it does make whittling down the to-read piles more difficult.

Why does it feel egotistical to admit I enjoy reading my own stories? Right now, I’m fighting the urge to apologize for it. Which is ridiculous. But I don’t have enough space in this post to analyze that.

So where do you fall on the spectrum? Would you or do you reread your stories for fun?

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