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When do you edit?

camradio

Scribe
So this will be my first attempt at seriously writing a longer story so my question is when should I start editing? Should I just flush out my story and go back and edit or should I edit after each chapter?
I can see benefits and downfalls of both.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
I do a rough edit after each chapter. This is done just to make sure everything in the chapter jives before moving on. I do not spend a great deal of time over analyzing this edit...it's just part of ending one chapter/POV & moving to the next.

Other than that, all editorial revisions are postponed until completion of the manuscript. I take notes for revision as I move along so when the time comes I've already got a guide for the initial revision. This also helps in remembering what I wanted to change/add/cut.

All in all, I go through several revisions. Each focuses on a different aspect of writing: story, description, characterization & dialogue, etc.
 
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BWFoster78

Myth Weaver
If your goal is to finish the story, most feel it's best to write the whole thing through before editing.

If your goal is to improve your writing, I suggest working on a small section, editing it thoroughly, and then seeking feedback on that section.
 

Rob P

Minstrel
I'm currently editing my efforts but that is not to say I didn't in part edit as I went along. As each chapter was completed and before moving onto the next within that storyline, I would return to that previous chapter, reading through adjusting the glaring problems but updating my memory of that part of the story, making notes for later editing.

For me, knowing the story's end was reached and the first phase of writing my MS was completed was liberating and encouraging. Now in my first real pass through of editing, I'm tackling all the technical issues, such as occasional tense mistakes, terrible sentences, POV conflicts and general word redundancy, even a few blatantly obvious scene deletions. This will prepare the way for a few beta-readers to grapple with the MS so that creative edit and control can be seized upon.

There will of course be further edits.

I have found it an amazing and intriguing process, watching the nature of what was written transform before your eyes.
 

Telcontar

Staff
Moderator
Personally I have used two general methods.

1) Edit-As-You-Go: Produce a clean, quality first draft. In other words, it takes me a long time to finish the first draft of the story but when I finally reach the end most of it is already up to par. Then I will ignore the thing for awhile in order to gain some emotional distance and return for the final editing process, where I try to judge everything anew.

2) Finish Fast, Fix it In Post: Don't worry about anything at first except getting the words out onto the page. Just write write write. If you have editing thoughts as you're writing DON'T succumb to them - leave little notes for yourself right in the text. Expect to do several editing passes, with the final one following the same "rest period" as above that allows you to be more objective about your own work.

As you can see, that final pass is common to both of my strategies. I think it is the one vital step in producing a finished piece of writing. Also note that both these strategies would then send the completed draft to beta readers.
 

BWFoster78

Myth Weaver
One consideration of methodology is, perhaps, whether you're an outliner or a discovery writer. I would tend to think that it would be easier for outliners to edit as they go. For a discovery writer, you don't know exactly what the tone or events of the beginning of your story should be until after you write the end.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
This point is key...
...ignore the thing for awhile in order to gain some emotional distance and return for the final editing process, where I try to judge everything anew.
Following this practice aids in reading like a reader and not an author. It always amazes me when I don't really recognize my own writing in the same way after putting the manuscript away for 6-8 weeks.




One consideration of methodology is, perhaps, whether you're an outliner or a discovery writer. I would tend to think that it would be easier for outliners to edit as they go. For a discovery writer, you don't know exactly what the tone or events of the beginning of your story should be until after you write the end.
I think that's true for the most part. I fall in between outliner and discovery. I often have to update the outline as the story progresses. For that reason, I try to allow discovery during the actual writing while using the outline like a daily prompt.

Editing is just like any part of the writing process. You'll need to discover what works best for you. This may be a concrete set of steps or it may be a process that changes with each story you write. Experiment with some of the advice here. You'll find the best path for your writing.
 

Jaredonian

Dreamer
As a new writer, I don't plan on doing any editing to my WIP until I've completed the first draft. Once I have a completed draft, then I'll go back and edit each chapter (or more than likely rewrite it). If I stopped to edit my writing as I went though I'd never get this thing done.
 
As a new writer, I don't plan on doing any editing to my WIP until I've completed the first draft. Once I have a completed draft, then I'll go back and edit each chapter (or more than likely rewrite it). If I stopped to edit my writing as I went though I'd never get this thing done.

Exactly. This seems to be the most popular advice, and I suggest this too. If you think too much and try to edit when you're just writing the first draft, you'll seem to have to much on your plate, and you might slack off aftr a while.

There is definitely virtue to going along this route, as it also allows you to change your story the second time, as you get experienced and detached enough from the story to make the necessary tweak or even a significant plot change. If an idea for a plot change occurs when you're writing your first draft, shelve it and do something about it in your second draft, just my opinion.
 

BWFoster78

Myth Weaver
Exactly. This seems to be the most popular advice, and I suggest this too. If you think too much and try to edit when you're just writing the first draft, you'll seem to have to much on your plate, and you might slack off aftr a while.

There is definitely virtue to going along this route, as it also allows you to change your story the second time, as you get experienced and detached enough from the story to make the necessary tweak or even a significant plot change. If an idea for a plot change occurs when you're writing your first draft, shelve it and do something about it in your second draft, just my opinion.

I agree that there is merit to this approach in that it will propel you to the finish line much faster. However, there is a big downside in the form of a loss of efficiency.

If you're a complete newbie writer, to be completely honest here, you probably suck, and your complete novel isn't going to be very good (or, at least, this was true for me as a newbie writer; there's always the possibility that YOU are a prodigy).

I'm not saying that this course of action is best for everyone, but what worked for me was to:

Take a step back and get better at writing through use of feedback before continuing.

I still continue to grow, but I think that, overall, the time I spent writing, editing, receiving feedback, rewriting, and receiving more feedback accelerated my learning process and got my novel to where it is now quicker than the other method would have.
 
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SeverinR

Vala
I edit when I know something needs it;
1.if the story derails or needs altered, right away.
2.if something major has to change to keep going where I want it to go. right away
3.something needs fixing that isn't obvious, and I might forget if I wait. right away

otherwise I try not to edit until I finish
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
I agree that there is merit to this approach in that it will propel you to the finish line much faster. However, there is a big downside in the form of a loss of efficiency.

I actually think finishing the first draft then editing is more efficient. For me, it avoids spending lots of time editing a section only to find out later that said section is no longer needed, or needs to be completely reworked, thus erasing all that hard work. I think knowing where things are going to end up lets you make better choices in your editing and gear it towards supporting what's to follow.

To me editing before finishing the first draft is like picking the paint and curtains to a room in a house that's still on the drawing board.
 

BWFoster78

Myth Weaver
I actually think finishing the first draft then editing is more efficient. For me, it avoids spending lots of time editing a section only to find out later that said section is no longer needed, or needs to be completely reworked, thus erasing all that hard work. I think knowing where things are going to end up lets you make better choices in your editing and gear it towards supporting what's to follow.

To me editing before finishing the first draft is like picking the paint and curtains to a room in a house that's still on the drawing board.

Perhaps, I wasn't clear. I specifically referred to the case of the newbie writer.

Now that I know what I'm doing, I think it's a lot better to finish a draft and go back to edit later. When I started out, I found the time I spent perfecting the first couple of chapters saved me a lot of time where I would have been producing completely unusable stuff.
 
Still, as you said, what newbies generally turn out the first time is usually hogwash, and they would spend the second draft completely rewriting the unusable parts, right? So reediting and revising a first draft prior to finishing it seems a little redundant, doesn't it, considering that you might find something you completely rewrote during the first draft completely superfluous later on? Also sometimes writing without looking back creates this drive that encourages the writer to finish the draft.
Every method has its different merits, and every person has their different views.
 

BWFoster78

Myth Weaver
Still, as you said, what newbies generally turn out the first time is usually hogwash, and they would spend the second draft completely rewriting the unusable parts, right? So reediting and revising a first draft prior to finishing it seems a little redundant, doesn't it, considering that you might find something you completely rewrote during the first draft completely superfluous later on? Also sometimes writing without looking back creates this drive that encourages the writer to finish the draft.
Every method has its different merits, and every person has their different views.

I think you missed the point of my advice.

What worked best for me (and that's all I'm really saying since the learning process is different for every person) is to try as hard as I could to make a small portion of my work as good as I could make it. Then, I got feedback on that work by going to a writing group. They tore it apart! Bled all over it. Barely a word was left unscathed.

It was one of the most painful experiences of my life.

It accelerated my learning curve beyond belief, though. I spent a decade reading about writing and actually playing at writing stuff. I improved very little in that decade. In the year after I went to my first writing group meeting, my writing has went from unreadable crap to something that generally gets pretty good comments.

Again, I'm not saying at all that it's wrong to complete your first work instead of the method that I describe. I agree that, for some, the best way to encourage the continuation of their writing career is for them to finish something. Otherwise, they may get so caught up in doing the same chapter over and over again that they eventually give up.

I think, however, that it's worth considering whether or not producing a novel in a vacuum is the best use of your time. You're going to learn a lot from the act of writing it that you wouldn't otherwise. You're going to develop discipline, and, frankly, the only way to truly understand what it takes to finish a novel is to, wait for it, finish a novel. On the other hand, I don't think that your basic writing and storytelling techniques are going to improve a whole heck of a lot absent feedback. IMO, the fastest, best way to improve is to try your best at something and then have people who are further along than you tear your efforts to pieces.
 
Most of the time after finishing the plot I might just go through and add in parts I missed, and tidy it up. But to be honest, most of the time I just leave it alone for a few months and write something else. I usually leave my work for a year maybe two, because that's how long it takes me to work on other stuff.
 

zizban

Troubadour
I write straight through from beginning to end. I'll sometimes take notes on some things I want to change in the next draft but I don't edit. I just keep writing until I reach The End.
 
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