Writing an entire first draft before editing

I tried it, but it just didn't work for me. I felt I was writing words I would just have to rewrite later, because I hadn't fixed earlier problems.

These days I go back and make any major changes I require when I realize I need them (e.g. removing or merging a character who turns out to be superfluous), and I use the comments feature in Libre Office to note any minor changes I'll have to make ('I need to stick the bad guy's head in a bear trap at the end. Make sure I put it on the wall in chapter one.'). Then the second draft is mostly fixing up those minor problems, cleaning up the words, and smoothing over any rough spots.

 

I start over and over again, and then move on. It often takes me a few tries to get the beginning right.

I don't have a problem with this. If I want to finish a story, I do so, even though I edit as I go.

This is true, but I don't see that it's a problem. It's the same thing whether you edit as you go or just charge ahead.

Not really. A story isn't properly written until you have a version that's as good as you can make it. A first draft that's garbage is not really an accomplishment, in my view. It's just step one towards an accomplishment.

This is also true, but not a good argument for charging ahead without editing. You see the structure of your piece with a well-edited first draft as easily as with a bare skeleton. At least I do.

This is true, but so what? Editing as you go does not mean you can't change the beginning. It just means that after editing as you go, you still have more editing to do. This is perfectly fine.

I don't think so. Also, it's beside the point for me. If I don't spend time as I'm writing trying to make each sentence and paragraph good, then, when I'm done, I have an embarrassingly-bad draft that's a big heap of crap, and for me, there's nothing more discouraging. I need to be able to read my first draft and appreciate it. Sure, I'll need to cut big chunks of it and add new chunks, as well as rewrite chunks I've already rewritten, but that's cool. That's what I like about writing. I don't consider editing as I go a "waste of time" just because I'm going to cut the scene later. It's the opposite for me: I love rewriting! If I were forced to charge ahead and not edit until the whole first draft was done, I'd probably give up writing entirely, because that is NOT FUN. It's not fun to write a page of garbage and move on to the next page of garbage. It is definitely fun to write a really good page, even if it takes several rewrites, and then move on.

 

I've always been envious of people who write something complex out in one draft. I've never been able to do it. Before I began writing this fiction piece, I wrote non-fiction stuff the same way. I'd see people write out policies or term papers in a single draft and I'd be editing and re-writing mine, wondering how they did it. If I had lived in a time before word processors, I'd have never begun writing this story.

 

Ohhh, I thought you meant you've been working on the first draft start to finish, no revising this whole time.

 

OK, seems a lot of people are afraid of having a fully finished 1st draft of "crap." Aren't we underestimating the power of editing just a little with this kind of attitude? How hard is it comb through scenes, adding in what you forgot, removing what you decide you don't like, changing things paragraph by paragraph? Presumably, if you could do it as you go, you can certainly do it later, all together, so that your mind is in "editing mode," and now that story is more or less determined, do so with better clarity.

Sure, you can edit as you go and then edit again later, but it sounds, if nothing else, like a little bit of a waste of time.

 

For people like me, the idea of starting the editing/revising after writing the whole story is wasting time, and frankly boring. Why write the story again? And again and again? Why not get it right the first time? I edit as I go - I edit if needed after my betas look over each chapter. Then I polish. I see no waste of time there.

That said, I don't see any method as inherently better - only that one works better for one writer and not for another. The only real waste of time is using a method that doesn't work for you because someone else said you should.

 

Of course I could do it later, but nobody has ever given me a compelling reason why I should. I hate moving on when I know a scene needs a rewrite. Accumulating garbage makes me sick. I'd give up writing if I had to write a crap first draft and then edit the whole thing later. I want to be proud of my day's work, and if it's garbage, I can't be. This is especially true for my week's work and my month's work. I don't want to do a month's work and know I have to rewrite the whole damn thing. I mean, I'll have to rewrite parts of it, and some parts will be deleted and new parts written, but in those cases I feel like I'm replacing gold with gold, not crap with gold. That makes it easier to deal with for me.

I've mentioned this in this forum before: I get confused when people talk about "editing mode." My mind doesn't have different modes for writing and editing. It's all writing to me, or at least writing and rewriting.

It's a waste of time if you don't enjoy it, I suppose, but I love doing it. No aspect of writing, rewriting, editing or anything related to these tasks is a waste of time to me.

 

Well, obviously I agree there's no such thing as a "better" method.

All I can say is, I used to think like you Minstrel, but a correction in my mindset has had me avoid writer's block entirely. When I used to spend too long perfecting what I wrote, as I wrote it, I found myself slowly losing the "oomph" I personally need to get to the end. When I try to perfect, essentially it's like my front wheel driving itself into a rut.

Another reason to "just go" without worrying too much, is that I personally think it helps give one's writing the appearance of not having tried to hard. Good writing looks like it just came naturally. If you just write it quickly, then come back, give it a few quick changes, and so forth, it doesn't look like you've been sitting there forever, obsessing the hell out of it.

 

I think that each person has a unique writing style. Some people will edit as they write and some people will edit after they write or a combination of both. To be honest I think that a writer should do what they want to when it comes to editing because a writer's work is his or her own. For me it depends on my mood. If I am really inspired and in a good writing mood I will write as much as I can without stopping, but if I am trying to write through a writer's block I will edit as I go so I really like what I have written even if it's not that much. Of course at the end comes more editing and rewriting.

 

Please note there is a big difference between trying to be perfect and editing as one goes. Trying to be perfect will kill your writing no matter when you edit/revise.

 

Yeah. What works for Writer A might fail miserably for Writer B. The important thing for any writer is to find out what works for him, and to ignore anyone who says they're doing it "wrong."

I don't have a problem losing my "oomph." My only experiences with writer's block have been when I can't figure out how to get a story going. That's why I often have to restart stories several times. One story I had an idea for just defeated me - I thought it would be great, but my characters refused to do anything. I eventually gave up on it - the only time I've ever given up on a story.

I'd lose my oomph if I wrote it all out as quickly as possible in a lousy first draft. Contemplating that pile of garbage would just destroy my will to finish. I feel like the story has already been told and I don't want to go to all the effort of telling it over again, only better this time. I don't even tell my friends what my story is about - doing that kills my desire to write it.

How do you keep your oomph when you've already told your story?

Here's where I disagree with you. To me, good writing is any writing that's beautiful, whether it came naturally or had been worked over again and again. Stephen King (to pick a name at random) writes naturally, and his prose is utterly unremarkable. Writers like James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, Anthony Burgess, Virginia Woolf, and many others wrote brilliant prose, and did so by revising constantly until they were satisfied. Their work certainly does not look like it came naturally, but it's great.

 

Just gonna voice my opinion out here regarding only the OP.
You guys seem to be right on top of everything, don't need me mucking things up.

That's one of the best advice anyone can give to a would-be author.
Write, dammit!
Finish writing your story before you worry about anything else.
Publishing? No. Editing? No. Working out nuances? No.
Just finish the draft. You won't get far without it.

Of course, I've read of authors who write one chapter a day and then edit it the next day before starting on chapter two or whatever.
Everyone eventually finds what system works for them.
However, finishing the story is probably paramount as a first priority in most cases.

Usually, after a first draft, I run through it and see if everything fits well.
Once I'm done, I open a new file and rewrite the entire damned thing while using the first draft as a "guide".
Instantly, I can see how much better the rewrite is when I'm only focusing on the wording and what/how I am saying instead of writing the story itself.
It might seem like twice the work but I once in 10 hours of non stop writing wrote a draft that had taken me a 2-3 weeks to finish.

To each their own but first write your story especially if you haven't settled on every single detail yet.

 

My first draft was a marathon. It took about 5-6 weeks and ended up being 134K words and two books long. I think I've bored people with the details before but I ended up with some complete chapters, some descriptions of what went in the next scene and some chapters that were just outlines. Sometimes I wanted to get the ideas down before I forgot them so I'd write an outline of the chapter. Sometimes I wrote out something closer to complete.

Then I started filling in the chapters, dumped many, rewrote moved things around. Then I decided I better just concentrate on the first book and put the second one aside. I still have the same story but there have been many changes. My dump pile where I just put paragraphs (not whole chapters) is past 5K words now. I should just delete it, I'm pretty sure I'll never even go back and read any of it, but it's easier to throw a paragraph in the dump drawer than to delete it psychologically. When I'm done I won't mind tossing the trimmings.

 

I never have any trouble reworking my story. I still enjoy every scene even over and over.

I do get it, however, that some people crank out really good stuff in one fluid motion.

 

I hate editing, personally.
It's already all perfect in my head, why can't it just magically transfer unto the page?

Sure,I do it anyways and I learned a lot about my own writing habits that way and it's for the best.
It's just the least fun part of writing. I enjoy creating the story but the actual fixing can get long.
Especially when I see this "Page 9/107"... I'ma gonna watch my shows now -.-

I personally turned off page counts and word counts on my UI.
They're too un-motivational.

 

i always think "Word Count!, Page Count!" its annoying because i want a super long story before i even consider closing it off (which i find difficult) and I always want to make sure it is right before i actually go on, so i dont have to add any more to the end of it (And end up spoiling something good) i dont think its a manner of editing for me though, its more of a planning issue, up until this new idea (which ive been formulating in my mind for a few months) ive not planned, this one, i feel, i need to plan with... knowing my luck ill slip back into my previous ways

 

We all want trilogies that will span thousands of pages
At least I do.

However, once you begin stressing over it, you're finished.
It took me a long time, but now I barely bat an eye at those things.
Unless there is a word limit (for contests or whatever) I'm not worried.

What I write is amazing and fulfilling all on it's own. It doesn't need a word/page count as a standard of whether it is a novel or a novella or novelette.
I wrote a story that I was passionate about and it came out just the way it was meant to.
If any of them ever do get published or win any prize, I'll gladly point to them no matter their lengths.
This is my work, my special little something, and I made something out of my own mind.

@ChaosReigns if planning is an issue, there are resources everywhere on how to plan it out.
Maybe write bullet points instead of actual content in each chapter. Do a short list of A to B events.
After, the trick is to stick with the plan and change it if inspiration hits you.

 

OK. Scenario. You work in a frenzy (within reason). You got this idea, you go with it, from start to finish. You go as fast as you can, no stops, the inspiration wheel is kept well oiled, it's smooth sailing to the end. Then, after the torrid lovemaking is over, you're left with a big, hot, messy blob of "stuff." There's a gem in there, obviously, because you wrote it, and now you need to uncover it. It's even more exciting, I'd say.

 

More like rummaging through the garbage can for that lottery ticket you hope has the winning numbers...

That's why people write differently - different mindsets.

 

This is definitely where different writers are utterly different. I do have a writing and editing mode, plus I greatly prefer editing mode. So looking at all that rough text would give me a happy, "Ooh! Toys!" feeling.

 

OK, well, this is definitely not a competition between writing styles. I would hope the intent of these posts is to offer some viable alternatives to aspiring writers who are dissatisfied with their current writing approaches.

Perhaps you prefer to write with gusto and ease, returning later, sober, to pick up the pieces. Or maybe you craft slow and steady, with constant care and diligence. Or something else.

At least one of us (yes, me!) is mature enough not to belittle different approaches ~_~

 

Has anybody in this thread been belittling different approaches? It looks to me like people have been defending their own approaches, but not belittling others.

 

"More like rummaging through the garbage can for that lottery ticket you hope has the winning numbers... "

Just sayin'

Come on, dude, you even liked that post!

 

I read that differently. I thought that was shadowwalker explaining how she'd feel if she did that. If I'm wrong, sorry!

 

Oops, you are right!