Revise as you go? Or wait till end of 1st draft?

Discussion in 'Revision and Editing' started by TDFuhringer, Feb 14, 2012.

  1. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    This is definitely one of the 'disciplines' of edit as you go - you're making the decisions *now*, and then moving on with the story as is. In that regard, it's not a waste of time because you won't be going back again and again.
     
  2. jazzabel

    jazzabel Agent Provocateur Contributor

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    Thanks so much Tesoro :) It all comes from personal preference but also a few great books on writing I read, especially this with thinking of better ideas, pushing the imagination, that really cleared up a lot of issues for me too.
    I hope you find the method useful, and at the pace which suits you.
     
  3. Becca H

    Becca H New Member

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    i write in little peices put each peice on a different document and then let it sit come back later look for mistakes and ways to make it better, let it sit again and do it over and over with all of the peices... hope this helps.... :) good luck!!!
     
  4. Dubya

    Dubya New Member

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    I have only written one thing, which was a novel, (approx 100k), and I edited it as I went along - then couldn't be bothered with a re-write, and just self-published it in it's raw form. May not work for everyone, but it worked for me.
     
  5. PumpkinLord45

    PumpkinLord45 New Member

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    Do not edit until you are done with the draft. You will never get the book done if you do. Or you will focus too much on one part of the story.
     
  6. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    Caution here - that's how it works for you. Not everyone is the same. :)
     
  7. PumpkinLord45

    PumpkinLord45 New Member

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    True, but that is what I have always learned.
     
  8. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    Have you tried anything different? Might want to give other methods a shot, for the experience if nothing else. You may find a 'better way' (for you) - or it may cement your current method.
     
  9. Jowettc

    Jowettc New Member

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    I'm gonna go with the RAYG crowd. Otherwise I find my continuity gets jumbled - but then that's me and I write in a helter skelter kind of way. Of course I still go back through at the end and tear it all to pieces again...and again....and again....
     
  10. UberNoodle

    UberNoodle New Member

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    I write and edit as I go. People tell me it's the 'wrong way' to do it, but I enjoy the process of slowly chipping away at my prose, honing it. I actually enjoy that more than actually finishing!
     
  11. Rapscallion

    Rapscallion Active Member

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    I can't finish even a short story in one sitting. I feel that momentum can be lost between sittings so, I read what I wrote in the previous sitting to get momentum back and place myself back in the story. During that read I will edit and correct as I deem needs be, and then continue the write. Once the story is complete I'll go through it two or three times tweaking. Then it's up for external review.

    A Novel? I can't go the distance, yet.
     
  12. MrTillinghast

    MrTillinghast New Member

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    I personally revise from the time that I end the piece. I'd rather have all the ideas fresh and out there, and then tweak it from start to end, just as I write it. I suppose, it seems more natural, for myself that is.
     
  13. Nicholas C.

    Nicholas C. Active Member

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    For me, it all comes down to the fact that before I can start a writing session, I need to scroll up and read some of what I've written previously so that I can put myself back into the story from a mental standpoint. Otherwise, I find myself writing with very little clarity as to where the story should be moving. As I'm putting myself back into the story, I often find mistakes, phrases that don't work, etc. I change those whenever I see them as it is less work to do later when the real editing begins.

    So it's not that I purposefully edit as I go; it just happens somewhat as a result of my approach to writing.
     
  14. funkybassmannick

    funkybassmannick New Member

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    So it seems like different methods work for different people. And a person might find different methods work on different manuscripts. We all agree, however, that the most important thing is that you keep writing. If editing distracts you too much from continuing to write, then don't edit as much. Similarly, if you can't keep writing because the story you've written needs a lot of fixing, then go back and fix the errors.

    When you come across the dilemma of whether or not to go back and edit, take a step back and see what method keeps you writing.
     
  15. TDFuhringer

    TDFuhringer Contributor Contributor

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    Very well put funkybass. It's all about what keeps you writing.
     
  16. spelsh

    spelsh New Member

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    I can't help but edit as I go along although I'm making more of an effort to just get words down as spending too much time overlooking what you have written just runs the risk of forgetting what you set out to do in the first place.
     
  17. NeedMoreRage

    NeedMoreRage New Member

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    I edit as I write: it's the only possible way for me to write. I write, almost exclusively, somewhat lengthy novels. I do my writing in chunks. I'll write a few chapters (usually not in chronological order) based on which chapters I have planned the most thoroughly. After feeling creatively spent from writing the block of chapters, I'll go back and edit them. I usually am very thorough with this editing process and I often find myself rewriting a few lines or a paragraph or two. The process does not take all that long, but it's extremely vital. I do not make written notes of any of my work, so editing is my only way to make sure things are remaining consistent, and the chapters I had written are following whatever my current goals are for the story.

    I've toyed with dozens of different combinations of methods, but I've come to the conclusion that I can't work with much constraint. Sometimes I find myself betraying even this very loose method and I'll just do what I feel is appropriate. Sometimes I slow down to almost no progress, and other times I can pour out a chapter in one day. If I hit a wall with a single project, I just go to a different one and work with that, or I'll do a free writing exercise or two.
     
  18. Lily J.

    Lily J. New Member

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    Same here, sometimes I get so lost in checking and rewriting and at the end of the night I haven't worked on a new chapter at all! :rolleyes:
     
  19. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    I am actually trying the RAYG with my new story, I started it just yesterday, but so far I think it's going ok. I write about a page, or 1,5 pages and then i go through it several times. Not so much for typos or grammar, because I usually get that right from the start (or I correct myself as soon as I've written it and become aware of my error) but the phrasing, the flow of the sentences, clarifying, adding more information, develop the thought further, that kind of stuff. I don't know, Those of you that edit as you go, what do you check for first? Which are the things you take care of immediately, and what do you usually change later, either if it's conscious or not? can you possibly see everything right away or are there stuff you won't be aware of until you've gotten some distance to it?
     
  20. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    Spelling and grammar typically gets fixed as it occurs - just second nature. I try to keep in mind the consequences of what's happening as I write it - before I take any major actions (or rather, before my characters do), I try to brainstorm a bit and see where it could lead, and if I think it's an interesting enough direction. That probably takes longer than actually writing it, because once it's down 'on paper', that's pretty much it. Once the chapter is done, I let it sit for a while, do a final read-through, and send it to my betas. Unless they find something, I'm done with until the final polishing after the story's completed.

    I've only once had a story go terribly wrong with this method, and that was my one and only romance. It's still sitting in rewrite hell on my hard drive - not sure if I'll ever go back to it.
     
  21. leke101

    leke101 New Member

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    Personally, I do some small revisions as I write(mainly grammatical and spelling) but I don't do an overhaul restructuring or review of the plot until I have completed the novel, left it for 3 months so I can return to it with a fresh pair of eyes.
     
  22. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    You and I are coming from such different perspectives on writing that I don't even know if I understand your questions. What do I check for first? I check for everything first. I take care of everything immediately and nothing later. How is it even possible to go on to the next sentence knowing that there's something wrong with the previous sentence? It can't happen. I don't write a sentence until I've turned it over in my head a dozen or more times, and I don't abandon a paragraph until I've read it aloud, over and over, tweaking and correcting, until I like it. That, to me, is what editing-as-you-go means. Sure, it's a slow process, but when I'm done with my first draft, it's pretty good. I still have to do the bird's-eye-view readthrough, where I find out the pacing issues and stuff like that, but I don't have to make pass after pass after pass of the same story. I just add the necessary material to fill in the gaps (it's usually adding instead of deleting), and then I'm done.
     
  23. JackElliott

    JackElliott New Member

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    The reason I don't like to edit and write simultaneously is because it takes me awhile to figure out what I am trying to say. Themes emerge after a few days, a better, more resonant ending comes into view, more character depth as I put myself with these people, figuring out who they are, what their motives are.

    I truly don't understand how people who revise every new sentence actually complete anything. Sounds like pure hell. But more power to you.
     
  24. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    The thought of starting all over for revisions, and then again, starting all over, and then again, starting all over - I couldn't stand it, and I'd never finish it because of that. It would fall away into that "One day, I'll try it again" file, gathering dust. It's all a matter of what works for which authors, whether others understand it or not.
     
  25. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    This is one of the reasons I edit as I go. Doing so makes me think deeply into the story. I come up with better, more resonant endings. Just charging through like a racehorse on the track would force me to miss all that.

    These three sentences seem completely at odds with your first paragraph. I don't get it. If you want themes to emerge, you take the time to edit as you go. Et cetera.
     

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