I don't know whether I should rewrite certain chapters or read it again from top to bottom checking to see if I had made any mistakes. What do you think? Also do most writers re-write their books a certain number of times.
Generally what I do is, after a novel is written, I start thinking of deficiencies and how I can strengthen them. That might mean my bad guy us not really bad enough, so I think of a traits, and then go back and inject those traits into the novel in places. Or I might be concerned with "Telling and not showing" so I do searches for each of the 30 tell words and see where patterns emerge, and do more showing instead of telling. Or I might give my main character a different way to dress, and have to change some elements of the story along the way. But all those small changes, located all over the novel, can cause problems with continuity. So then I will go back, and reread the novel from start to finish to make sure any changes is consistent from the start of the story, to the end. When I do this, I typically save the story as a new draft. In my current novel I have done this 6 times, so I am on my 6th draft.
Here is an example of that: At one point the love interest in my story wants to impress a guy and bring him coffee when he does not expect it. To show she is a helpless romantic, I had her hem her skirt up a bit to show readers she was daring and her personality type. But then I realized I could improve it even more if she changed from flats to heels. I mean, who has high heels in their locker at work? She even quips to her friend, "Never wear sensible shoes", as she rushes off to impress the man. But because of how the story unfolds, she cannot change out of those heels for half the book. As any woman can tell you, wearing high heels changes everything, from just having painful feet, to twisted ankles, to struggling to walk on certain surfaces. So as I reread the book, I have to keep in my what she is wearing in this half of the book, and change things. That is what I mean by continuity. But it is worth doing. In this instance her shoes personify her personality. She makes a decision to wear unpractical shoes to impress a guy, and she regretfully pays for that decision, for half the book. So I am showing, not telling in a subtle way because it is easy for the readers to see why that same kind of rash decision making has caused her to have a one night stand with a guy, and is now 2 months along with a father who wants nothing to do with her or the baby.
But here is the thing: you do not want to go back through the whole book for every change you make. It would just be too time consuming. So I make a list and change things. 1. Make my villain more bad, and go back and inject scenes that make him mean 2. Have the love interest switch to high heels 3. Have the main character smoke a pipe instead of cigarettes' 4. Have the woman's best friend also be her cousin since that adds realism and depth I would do more than 4 things, but when I went back to redo my book from start to finish, I would have a bunch of things to make sure were right (continuity) from start to finish.
I think it's important, once you've finished a novel and done a preliminary edit (to correct actual mistakes and things you know are wrong), that you get some feedback. There can often be quite a gap between what you know about your story and what the reader picks up. Let them tell you where they are confused, or reveal a mistaken notion they've picked up. Once you know what has not crossed the bridge between writer and reader, you can start building those connections. I don't know ANY author who doesn't revise their work. There will probably be one or two out there, who achieve perfection first go. But they are certainly not common.
Are you just looking for mistakes or are you looking for flow/voice/character/dialogue/narration improvements? Is your story completed or are you still writing 'fresh' work? If still writing, one thing I did was to go back a few chapters and I tried rewriting a specific and vital scene to the very best of my ability. I worked on that scene 'seeing' through the eyes of the characters. I was constantly aware of ways that I had told what was happening and instead tried to show what was happening. What I discovered by doing this was I understood my characters much better - they began talking back to me. I also found it much easier to continue writing in their voice and vision, showing my potential readers what was happening instead of telling them. I totally rewrite chapters and sometimes, in rewriting, alter the story. It is a maddening cycle - rewriting the past, altering the present and creating the future scenes and chapters in my work, but it is sooo worth it.
I am looking for mistakes and for flow, voice, character, dialogue, narrating improvement. Pretty much how to polish this work of mine. The story though is drafted, I did two drafts of it, but I want to rewrite the chapters.
Cannot speak to most writers, but I am rarely satisfied with a first draft, or second, or third. There are some writers that can put out presentable stuff with just one proof read. I aim for that.
I always do, and always end up on my knees with a wrench and duct tape. For quite a long time I was afraid of editing a 'finished' piece, but with practice that fear vanished, now I know it makes my writing better. I'd advise writers to reread and correct their works.
I have been studying how different writer work for years. There must be a limit on how many possibilities there are , but I have not found a clear consensus . Some writers are very prolific and write an entire novel in weeks and the first draft will only need to be read by an editor to be finished. Some writers will write variations of the same story and the first draft only requires copy editing . Some will go back about 500 words or so and edit as they write . Others will not look at what they have written until the first draft is finished and at lest a few weeks have past . Some writers will spend years on a single book and never finish . I believe it is a mistake to spend to much time on the first novels. My feeling is , beginners should write as fast as possible . Don't stop until the work is finished . Try to correct the first draft as best as you can , start the next one .
As much as I want to start the next one, would I need to reread what was outlined at first? I think that seems like a good idea.