I hear a lot of writers talking on social media about how much they cringe to read their older pieces–whether, poems, short stories, novellas, or even novels.

It’s definitely hard to go back and look at your older work. If that’s you, and you’re feeling a bit embarrassed about stuff you put out in the past, I have some great news that’s kind of obvious, but that you may need to hear:

THIS IS GOOD.

It means you have grown in the craft of writing, which is what you want. You are moving in the right direction. You are aware of grammatical, pacing, rhythmic, or other issues you didn’t realize before. You are more aware of what is needed and what isn’t, what is useful and what isn’t, what works and what doesn’t.

Growth is generally painful in most areas. But growth is a wonderful thing. The alternative is far, far worse than that pain.