How to Love Your Old Neopian Times Work Again

     With more people having dabbled in contributing to the Neopian Times for some reason or another ranging from feelings of accomplishment and self-actualization to wanting a shiny new trophy, or a little pixel animation you can flaunt on the Neoboards or whatever, more people have previous work they have submitted to the Times which have, whether they like it or not, aged. Sometimes it’s nice and nostalgic to thumb back through those pieces which have aged gracefully, but other times, it makes us wonder what was going through our minds when we wrote or drew this or that. A few of us, myself included, would admit to wanting to bury our work deep into the Symol Hole.

     When I went on a couple of long hiatuses, I had the luxury of forgetting the articles and stories I threw together as a teenager back when the Neopian Times didn’t even have two hundred issues to its name. Unfortunately, I can’t really continue writing some of my stories without thumbing back to the old stories I thought I left behind. I had to take a deep breath and dive into the Times archives to unearth them for some semblance of consistency, only to wind up yelling at my past self. But we’re not concerned with consistency here; we’re more concerned about learning to not avert our eyes each time our old Neopian Times work pops up in front of us. A continuing lesson on my part, for sure, but we can learn to love what makes us cringe today.

     Step 1: Calm Down, It’s Just a Drawing (or Writing)

     Going through old Neopian Times issues is not like waking Eyrieki or Razul. The most that can happen is being blinded by a gratuitous use of all caps or 1337speak when there was no pressing need for either, or excessive sickeningly flowery language from someone flexing their vocabulary skills. It might hurt the first few seconds, but the pain will ebb away as you read through. Or maybe the opposite will happen and instead you are gripped with a terrible feeling of “why did I write/draw this” –

     Wait, come back! I’m sorry I scared you.

     Anyway, even if it’s a bit hard to look at it now, it’s just a story, or an article, or a comic. Whatever it is, it’s harmless. It’s not a rogue wraith or a trademarked Dr. Sloth weapon of mass destruction. You’ll come out of this alive. You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. We all know this feeling of embarrassment, and we all have at least one or a few pieces that make us want to avert our eyes. It’s normal, but more on that later. This is the first step to learning to love your old Neopian Times work.

     So, calm down, and feast your eyes on what you’ve created. After all…

     Step 2: You Did a Thing, and You Should Be Proud

     Be proud! (I know, I know, easier said than done.) No matter how ancient that piece is, it passed muster and was deemed worthy of publication in the Neopian Times, which we know isn’t easy considering that the Times also follows the rules of grammar, spelling, coherency, and relevance to Neopets. All of us have had our share of “too many good entries” rejections, writer’s block, and wanting to throw our various writing implements against the nearest wall, and somehow, we’ve prevailed over them and got published. Amazing, isn’t it? Finishing something like that isn’t easy, no matter how many times we do it.

     No matter how many times we get published, whether it’s one time or one hundred times, the rush of accomplishment and confidence never gets old. My heart still does that exact same flip in my chest when my story is accepted, just like it did over a decade ago when I was ahem, more carefree in my writing. Never mind that I’m what folks refer to as an old hat, or perhaps an ancient relic.

     And that’s what I try to remember – that I got a good idea, spun it into a story, actually finished the said story, edited it to weed out the evil typos, sent it, and saw it published in the Times.

     Step 3: Your Old Neopian Times Work Is What Helped You Improve Today

     Remember when you flinched at the sight of your old work? Well, there’s a good reason you’re cringing now compared to how you probably felt after you got your acceptance Neomail for it. You’re seeing the grammatical errors and typos you missed, the somewhat out of character dialogue, lines you wish you could rewrite…or in an artist’s case, the line art that could have been smoother, or perhaps the shading that didn’t turn out well, or a joke that could have been done differently.

     And that’s a good sign. You’ve gotten better since your earlier Neopian Times days. You can now see the areas wherein you needed improvement at the time, and you’ve learned to pay more attention to them. It’s also why usually our more recent work doesn’t make us flinch as much. It’s much easier to sit down and read through newer pieces that were products of our improvement.

     Of course, whether you want to rewrite or redraw your pieces to see what you can do better is entirely up to you. It’s entirely optional. If you don’t do it, then you can let your old work remain as it is, a reminder of how far you’ve come and how your talent has grown. Oh, it brings a tear to my eye.

     Step 4: So, Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy Your Old Work

     Come on, your work won’t bite. (See Step 1.) Don’t just peer at it like you’re poking around in your Habitarium. Read it, savour it as though you were eating at the Gourmet Club, and summon your memories of creating it and sharing it with everyone. Even if the writing or the art may not be up to your standards today, the memories on the other hand may be just what you need for a shot of confidence or optimism, or just good old nostalgia. They say the journey is just as important as the destination, and it’s just as true when we create.

     It’s fun to reminisce about the writing or drawing process – recalling how certain ideas walked into our minds, how stories and plots changed from discussion with your fellow creators, and how the final products likely differed from the initial concepts.

     Step 5: Sometimes, We Need to Revisit Step One

     Wait, there’s a step 5? Yes, there is. It’s also called, “rinse and repeat”.

     Out of curiosity or if, like me, you want some semblance of consistency across your plots, you may wind up going through your old Neopian Times work again, and this time, there may be typos you only notice now, or the gratuitous use of a new vocabulary word you were so excited to brandish like a brand new Battledome weapon. Oops, there goes the confidence and pride you built up from Steps 1 through 4, but don’t despair, it’s easy to get them back.

     Before you yell at your past self again and do the cringe thing, go through the steps again. You’re not facing the Snowager when it’s awake. Whatever your work is, it’s still something you finished and which was accepted for publication, not to mention it was one of the steps you took to improve your craft.

     Most of all, remember that no matter how cringe-worthy you think your old work was (because for one thing, it most certainly is not), it has become a part of the Neopian Times and its continuing history. The Neopian Times, as we all know by now, is nothing without its contributors who fill in its blanks. It’s an ongoing community effort that has somehow managed to survive countless site changes, Altador Cups, the rise of HTML5, and even the demise of Flash, to bring us 950 issues of fan-created content across various eras of Neopia.

     And you helped bring the Neopian Times to this point. Yes, you. Give yourself a pat on the back, and after you’ve read this edition of the Times, thumb back to those good ol’ days with a nice cup of borovan. Or Fruitmallow Grog, I don’t know what the youngins like to drink these days.