I was going through files on a backup drive the other day, and came across a short story I’d written in the late 1990s. Wangaia was one of those concepts that drifted in out of the blue. I’d had a couple of rejections come in for a book my agent was circulating, and a vague thought brought me a chuckle. I decided to run with it.

Wangaia was just something I wrote for me. I had fun with it; it gave me a pleasant couple-of-days break from “real writing.” I never submitted it anywhere. That was partly because it had the underlying vibe of what my daughter (an avid fanfic writer) would call a “Mary Sue.” It’s about a writer and her growing pile of rejection slips. An event occurs that pulls her into the fictional world she created, and sends her on an adventure with her main character.

Apparently, I even created an EPUB file at some point with the thought of self-publishing it. I guess I changed my mind; I honestly don’t remember!

Maybe I’ll actually do so. Or not.

Regardless, it was fun to look back at it. I’d forgotten it existed, and was confused when I found the folder. A friend mentioned that she was looking for some light reading, so I sent her the Word document. I hope she gets a chuckle out of it.

Coming across old stories like this is a bit like reconnecting with one’s children after they’re grown and have been out on their own for years.

It brings a smile as well as a mixed bag of reactions from: “Ouch, did I really write that?” to, “You know, that’s not half bad,” or maybe even, “I didn’t see that twist coming at all!”

Should I self-publish Wangaia? I don’t know, I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll ask my critique group if any of them would like to read it, just to see if they feel it’s worth putting out there. It’s not our genre (we’re a paranormal mystery group, and this one is plain old fantasy). Besides, they’re already reading through another old friend that needs a major revamp before publishing.

Maybe I’ll just put it gently back in its drawer and pull it out in another ten years’ time for a laugh.

Do you write? Have you come across old stories you’d forgotten existed? What was your reaction to them? Was it, “Wow, I was pretty good, even back then,” or, “Ouch, I can see why this one never made it past the slushpile!” Was your response something in between? Maybe you pulled it into your word processing program to breathe new life into it and turn it into something stellar. Or perhaps you just tucked the past back into bed with a blankie and a pat on the head, and went back to work on the present.