How can I edit my own, very old work?

Question

I have about a hundred pages of a novel I wrote in high school, I like the concept behind the writing but I'm finding it extremely difficult to go back and read/edit it again. I last edited the document in 2007.The work received lots of praise at the time but, as I look back and read it myself, it's embarrassing. At the same time I'm attached and want to finish it. I'm concerned with how much work editing it all would be and that makes me afraid I will never finish it.I'm thinking of three ways of handling this: - Throw the old copy in the trash and completely rewrite it. I hesitate to do this because the amount of work was already intimidating; if I do this I think I might abandon the project. - Read and edit page by page, fixing all the little things I don't like. This feels logical but I don't know if it's the best approach. - Read the whole thing over once like a new reader before I start considering edits.

Answer 1

One of the best pieces of advice that I received when I was working on my concentration in creative writing was "Never be afraid to kill your babies." It's so hard sometimes to look back at what we've written and view it subjectively. You did put a lot of work into it at the time, but you have grown, and so has your writing! Try reading the piece aloud and choosing the sections that you like the best. Copy these pieces into a new document, and fill in/rewrite as you see fit. I, always, recommend having a fresh set of eyes read the piece, but if you're not ready for that yet, reading it aloud to yourself can be the next best thing. Please, feel free to reach out if you would like more thorough help, and good luck!