What? Don’t Edit Your First Draft???
Eric, over at Common Sense PR stopped me cold with this headline: Don’t Edit your First Draft
You can imagine what I thought, can’t you? I was wrong!
Go on over and read the post, then come back and tell me how many people you know who can’t get passed the first chapter, or even the first paragraph.
Write well and often,
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7 opinions for What? Don’t Edit Your First Draft???
Hope Wilbanks
Dec 30, 2007 at 6:20 pm
I try to write my first draft without stopping. More often than not though my inner critic starts chiming in and I go back and edit during the initial draft.
Lori
Dec 30, 2007 at 6:22 pm
He’s absolutely right. I get stuck on editing - none of my stories are finished as a result! In fact, that’s why I signed up for the National Novel Writing Month contest this year. It forces you to move ahead and not look back. You can’t! You have no time to! :))
Anne Wayman
Dec 31, 2007 at 8:44 am
Hey Lori, did you finish the novel?
Michael
Dec 31, 2007 at 9:15 am
One hundred percent agree. Do a complete mind dump before going back and polishing. What can make it even worse when I am trying to teach kids or students is that they spend tons of time with fonts and graphics and alignment and… you get the picture.
Anne Wayman
Dec 31, 2007 at 11:27 am
Lol, Michael… long ago I sold some of the first personal computers and a wannabe writer came in frustrated because the system we sold him? her? had side margins not quite an inch… s/he (and I truly don’t remember) seemed convinced that if the margins were exactly as suggested in Writer’s Market the piece would sell… they didn’t believe me when I suggested they concentrate on their writing. ;)
Susan Gunelius
Jan 3, 2008 at 9:15 am
I don’t edit as I write. I always write stream of consiousness then I go back and re-read and edit. The only time I stop the flow is to look up a piece of information. Sometimes, I don’t even stop then. I just leave a blank and fill in the info later.
Anne Wayman
Jan 3, 2008 at 11:35 am
Me too, Susan… my initial manuscripts are often filled with notes to myself in all caps… places where I kept writing even tho’ I knew I needed more info or something.
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