Approaching Editing

This week has been a productive one, at least over the last 72 hours. After discovering 750 words.com, I have managed to write on there for the last five days. I have rediscovered Morning Pages. I had forgotten how much i liked doing them and how much of a help they are. It’s not work on my work in progress but it just allows me to get all of the baggage out of my head and onto the page. If you’ve never tried Morning Pages before then I recommend them.

As for the first draft of the novel, so far, so good. I have written just over 3,000 words since the beginning of the weekend. My problem now, is keeping the momentum going. As I may have mentioned before, I have a habit of reading what I’ve written too soon after writing it.

One of the questions I like asking other authors, is how they edit. Everyone it seems, has a different system and way of approaching the editing process. Some edit as they go along and some wait until there’s a first draft. Others write many drafts, some write 20,000 words as a skeleton and then build on it.

There is a process as a writer of finding your feet and I am still attempting to find mine although at the moment, I think that waiting for a first draft would suit me better. You can’t edit what isn’t there and I am spending so much time in re-writes too early on and am therefore getting too caught up in the quality of the first draft.
It is of course, your writing journey and one that is unique to you.

If you’re looking for some more tips, I found this article, written by Jessica Majewski really useful. It’s got a lot of tips for how to approach the whole writing process – https://whenyouwrite.com.

How do you approach editing? Do you edit as you go along or wait until there is a first draft? Do you have any advice for people approaching editing for the first time?

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.