I've been going through last year's papers to find our best stuff to enter in the annual press contest. It's a bit time-consuming, yes, but it is kind of fun to see some of the stuff I'd forgotten about. The major stories or those that really hit home aren't forgotten, but some of the other stuff had already moved to the "trash" in my mind's computer.
I find it interesting to look at or read some of my articles. Sometimes I look at it and say, "Wow. I really do know what I'm doing." Other times, my reaction is "what in the world was I thinking!?" Of course, since I write for a newspaper, the things I do end up in front of the public. Most of the time that's OK. I had a reader tell me the other day that she likes reading the more personal things we (me and the other news staffers) write because she learns more about us.
That's both good and bad. It's bad because you are in front of the world every day. And they're watching you. (I'm not paranoid, really. *whispering and checking for cameras behind the couch* But they are.) But it's good because the readers do get to know you. Another reader enjoyed a column I'd written about one of my grandfathers because Grandpa reminded him of his grandfather. When you write about struggles you're going through or silly things that happen in your life, because they feel like they know you, they may be more willing to open up to you in an interview.
It can be scary to be "out there." But the advantage I have as a writer is I can choose what I share with the readers. If there's something going on in my life I don't want them to know, I simply don't write about it. Instead, I find some goofy thing my siblings and I did. There's certainly no shortage of those.
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