Rule: Never edit as you go
Why this is a rule:
I’ve been aware of this rule for ages but, to be honest, I’ve never truly understood it. Also, I’ve never followed it.
I’m in good company because so many well known authors do edit as they go. I think what the rule-maker is getting at here is if a writer is endlessly editing and rewriting and editing again, they never make any progress. But it’s also to do with the word editing.
Why you should bust it:
Imagine you’re in the kitchen of a famous chef. They’re creating a new sauce – adding a pinch of this, a soupçon of that, stirring it in. You’ve seen this on TV. What are they doing every now and then? Tasting to see if it’s right, to see if it matches what’s in their head. Then they add more ingredients or water or wine or whatever their taste buds tell them is needed. What they never do, is continue to the end to see if it’s OK. Too late! That’s why this rule is wrong! So, bust the editing rule!
Perhaps reviewing would be a better description for what I, and many other writers including the most successful, do.
Each day, I go back over what I wrote the day before; closing obvious holes, improving dialogue, squeezing word count; making what I’ve written a smoother first draft. That’s sufficient for me to move ahead. Just like the chef.
Editing tends to suggest cutting, removing, reducing in some way, and there’s plenty of that. But it can also mean the opposite, because in reviewing, in addition to typos and mis-spelling, etc, you’ll find sections of plot or dialogue or description which might need expanding. Anything which can be done in a few minutes, I’ll do it there and then. When I come across something needing a lot of work or enlargement, I type some notes in red on the draft so I won’t forget to attend to it in a later, more comprehensive, edit.
Mind you, I couldn’t do what one famous writer apparently does. I saw recently he reviews each day, as I do, but not only the previous day’s work; he re-reads back to the beginning of the book.
Another advantage I find in this process is it reminds me where I’ve got to and puts me back ‘into the zone’; the frame of mind to knuckle down and get creating again.
Daily reviewing works for me but here’s a tip. If you try this method, learn to hold back any perfectionist traits you may have. Fix the obvious things then move on. This is only the first of many edits you’ll be doing.
Look out for my other blogs on Editing your Own Work and Editing your Manuscript.
If you want to comment or ask a question on one of my Blog posts, click CONTACT on the main menu tabs.
Comentarios