A letter to my past self

Now that I am back in the writing game, I have a few notes I want to share with my past self.  I am interested in acquiring a time machine, if one were to have one or know where I could find one.  I tried checking Craigslist, but alas, time machines were not in plentiful supply.

Dear Past Self,

You have potential.  You really do.  Unfortunately, you also like squandering your potential and it makes me, your future self, sad.  Here are a few notes that may be of use to you:

• When you get upset with the Atlantis fandom, stay in it anyway because it won't be there forever and you will miss the show.  Rodney and John are your best literary friends just as D'Artagnan and Athos have been in the past.  Embrace all the time you can with them.  Even when the show is not perfect (and, yes, we know season five had major issues), it is still Altantis and it can still be magical.  Also, your fandom friends are amazing and most fandoms don't have such a wonderful base.

• Spend more time on your drafts.  Don't get so excited that you feel you must post before you are ready.  Revise revise revise.  Even after you are done revising, revise some more.

• Stop with the commas.  Seriously.  Stop.  I have never seen so many commas in my life and it breaks my brain.  After reading your work, I am now lost on the comma rules I once knew.  It is your fault!  I am writing this wondering if all my commas are wrong and I can't even remember because your work confused me and continues to confuse me.  Gah!

• You write better shorter stories than longer.  Stick to short and sweet but not too short.  Your best stories run from about 1500 to 15000 words.   I don't think it is the length that was the problem so much as the patience.  Never post a WIP. When a story is finished, be sure it is true to the characters and the setting.

• Weakness was not one of your better works, despite how much you loved it. There were issues that probably could have been fixed but as your future self I went ahead and just deleted it.  It's better this way.  I also went ahead and deleted Lessons in Humility and a few other works that were fairly unsalvageable.  It's okay.  You were learning to write and excited.  While I am fully embarrassed by these works, I am still happy to see how much we have learned over the years.

• Read more.  It's true what they say: The more you read, the better you will write.  I am not sure how much I can write as of now because I am sorely out of practice but reading works by fantastic authors has helped me to understand the flaws in our own writing.  I know you have always had a hard time reading while fully engrossed in writing but give it a try.  You have to learn somewhere.

• Some of the work is unfinished.  Please go back and write more on City of Sorrows and some of your other stories.  I know you feel they are complete but they just aren't.  Complete should give resolution. If there is no resolution then the story is lacking.  I may go back to the stories that bother me the most and add to them for you.  I am hoping you will not mind.

• Stick with humor.  Humor is good.  Some of the stories you disliked because they were silly were actually your best work.  Your angst is usually over the top and self indulgent.  Avoid being too maudlin.  For those times when angst/maudlin apply (Atlantis is fairly dark at times) never forget to balance the angst with comfort.

• This is out of your control, but if you do get a chance to somehow change how Atlantis was written, please convince the writers to keep the original group.  I still miss Beckett and Weir.  Unfortunately, I am still you and unable to handle AUs because it's not the "real" universe.  If I could, I think I would only write AUs with the season three group.  If only we weren't so literal.

So those are the notes I have for you.  You may disagree with them and that is okay.  I think we are just different people since we live in different times and all.  We grow and learn.  We change.  As much as I am critical of us, I am thankful for the gifts of your fiction.  I have thoroughly enjoyed going back through our stories and remembering what it was we were able to create.  I almost feel as though I am reading our journal and remembering how we thought and what we loved.  I only wish you had written more to share with me.

It has been so long since I was part of fandom that I'm afraid I have to start back at the beginning with writing.  I hardly know how to put my thoughts to paper anymore.  Perhaps if you could find some advice for me then you could send it forward my way.  I'd really appreciate that.

So long and keep writing.

Sincerely,

Your future self (2014)