random curiosity

[ratcreature]

I'm sure most people are familiar with the situation that when you look back at works of any kind (writing, art, crafts, whatever) that you finished some time ago, you come across one for which you still find the idea/concept really awesome, but now you kind of cringe at the technical execution, or at least some of it, because you've gotten better with practice since, and if you realized the same idea now, it could have been so much better. And while you still know that you were really proud of it then, and still love the concept behind it, the less accomplished realization now almost seems like a waste of a great idea.

And then some people may redo their old work if they find an idea compelling enough, i.e. rewrite that old novel in a second version, redo a painting, etc., while others may revisit similar themes or mine their old work for ideas, but don't go back to finished things to do the same thing again, just better. Personally I'm in the second "camp" and don't think I've ever done a remake version, but I wonder how others feel, thus a poll:

Poll #5503 remaking your works

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 18

View Respondents

Do you ever redo old works?

View Answers

Yes.
8 (44.4%)

No.
10 (55.6%)

I'm more complicated than your radio buttons, and will explain this in a comment.
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[casspeach]

I totally get that, and I'm getting worse and worse at moving beyond 'that'll do' to 'that's the best I can do' and it's kind of pissing me off to be honest. Hence my decision to take a step back from anything with a deadline this year. I want to try and make myself let things sit for a while and edit them instead of just rushing the first draft into publication.

Laziness is a big part of my problem too. I think I have whatever the opposite of a perfectionist streak is!

[ratcreature]

Well, it has some upsides, like the sociobiologists who love to justify everything with their imaginary cavemen scenarios (that strangely always reaffirm the pre-conceived notions) would probably envision: Lazy!Caveman, making half-assed flint tool: This is probably sharp enough to open up this deer carcass I've found over there. Five minutes later, some sucky but low-effort meal of opened up carcass ensues. Meanwhile, perfectionist!Caveman: I will make the perfect flint tool, and hunt the most awesome fresh deer. Many hours later, the blade is still not perfect, also the awesome deer are all much faster, and much harder to get. Three guesses who died of starvation first...

[casspeach]

LOL, so true, but I just wanna be middle-of-the-road!caveman, you know. The one that gets his deer, and doesn't kick his flint tool under the table and disavow it when his caveman mates come round!

[ratcreature]

*nods*
It's an optimization problem of whether the pay off is still worth the extra effort, or whether one is in the area where it is just a lot more effort, but the improvement of the outcome is not proportional anymore (or even better, I mean, at some points along this curve a little extra effort, causes leaps in the quality of the result), but just a tiny bit better.