Embracing the Cringe, Spotting the Pattern

So I got bored yesterday, and I decided to look through my old writing files from high school (which means it's like three to four years old), and OH BOY. It is something. Here are the highlights:

1. I've used my current main character's name before. Her first name in one story, and her last name in another. The first time they were used together was in late 2019, but for a very different character with a very different purpose. So that was interesting, and it serves as an example of one of the many things I recycled and slapped into my current project.

2. Literally all of my characters were neurodivergent-coded subconsciously. There was inattentive ADHD, hyperactive ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and gifted kid syndrome. I didn't even try to make them like that. I just wrote a character that I saw as a normal character. And now with about four years of knowledge acquired through experience, I realize why all my writing was trash: I was projecting, lol.

3. I have written approximately 50,000 useless words. I am shook that I have a novel's worth of writing under my belt, even if it's all trash. But then again, it's not really trash—there is value in looking at it and realizing how I've improved.

Maybe some other time I'll post my favorite quotes from my old stuff. Even though it's bad, there are some lines that still stick the landing and made me laugh.