How Do You Edit?

I keep trying to get the first draft done before I edit ("just barf the book!" --one publisher of my acquaintance), but can't seem to stop myself from editing as I go. And no, being a Pantser (see thread below), I have no real system. If I sit down to write a chunk of a first draft, and then do the same tomorrow, I find myself editing that first chunk before I'll let myself go on to the second. Pantsers do this, I think. Once I get the first draft completely written, I print it out and edit that way. I spot boo-boos more easily on paper than on the screen.

So, the answer to your question is yes to both.

Like Deb said, I usually do a quick 'tidy up' of whatever I wrote yesterday, mainly because doing that shoots me right back into the story at the place I left off. I don't do the surgical precision type edits until the story is finished and had a rest on the back burner because I never know what I might pull out when I read it again with fresh eyes. I don't want to waste time making a sentence or paragraph better if I'm going to delete it in the next pass through.

Write it....edit on screen, print it edit, take it CG....wait two weeks...the guys are a wonder with red pens and yellow highlighter, take comments into consideration...keep writing.

brainstorm77 said:

It's probably been asked before but this time I'm asking all writers of romance. How do you go about editing? Do you wait till the first draft is complete? Do you edit as you write?

Click to expand...

I'll do a little of both as the mood strikes me. Generally, I tend to read back over what I wrote yesterday and correct any obvious stuff that leaps out or tweak things a little if I see how it can be improved. Beyond that, I keep writing. At some point, I will start sending stuff out for crit. Mechanical stuff (typos, etc) I can correct on the fly as I get crits back. Stuff that requires more work, I will usually set aside. I think this might have something to do with pantsing. Sometimes I don't know what I need to know to "fix" character and plot issues until later in the book. When I get to the end, I'll know what is going on and be able to go back in and drop the appropriate clues.

Then it is just back and forth with the CP. Read this again and see if it makes more sense now.

I crash headlong through the rough draft with the lone goal of just getting the story from point A to point B. I just need to get the entire story out there, no matter how crudely written. After that, I layer my edits... each fleshing out the writing, editing mistakes, correcting grammar, identifying continuity errors, finding character flaws...etc... I go through about 15 revisions before I have something I feel is ready for beta reading... and once read, that usually leads to 2 or 3 more revisions.

But I also, edit as I write, if I see something glaringly wrong with something. But I try not too. =)

I tend to write fairly clean first drafts. If I'm reading through a scene I wrote the day before, I'll fix things or leave comments to myself for later. When I'm finished with the first draft, I set is aside for a few days and start on something else. I'll come back to the first draft when the story isn't as fresh in my mind. I do one thorough editing pass and then pass it off to my CP. When it comes back from the CP, I fix whatever needs to be fixed and do one final read through after writing the synopsis and blurb or query. Then I'm done.

It's interesting to see how we edit differently; that's mainly why I read this.

God, I don't even know if I have a "system" for editing! Yet. Or if I ever will. If I change my mind about something I've already written and it's major (in first draft) - then I'm a little compulsive. I just have to edit it a little before moving on.

Like Hildegarde, I warm up by reading my previous day's work. Depends on my mood and energy-level if I fix anything, or leave it. But at this stage of life (one without the Valuable Estrogen) I am likely to forget that great idea to come back later on...!
Oh ye of Estrogenity. Bless your ovaries now, for they enable you. One day you shall have not. Heh. Edit on.

Write until complete (let the juices flow)
After Spell and Grammar check
Read and edit any obvious mistakes.
Read aloud slowly and start removing excess words.
Read (making sure each sentence is complete unto itself)
Read, and improve the time/story line.
Allow others to read, and get feedback
Edit while reading aloud, how does it sound to you if
someone knows nothing about your story.
Ah . . . yeah go ahead edit it again, while making
those changes you've been thinking of making.
Now read it aloud, and yes - edit it some more.

I'm a VERY random editor. I tend to write and edit as the mood strikes me (writing's a part-time hobby right now, so I'm not under any deadlines at the moment). If I get a scene concretely in my head (as in I can almost 'see' it like a movie), I have to write it, just to get it out there. But then there's other times where I write a scene, then start 'seeing' it in my head and will go back and re-write it.

Basically, I edit scene by scene until each scene has been worked over three or four times (at least). I usually edit on screen, and change the color of the words after I've edited a certain scene. When I'm halfway through editing, my manuscript looks like a rainbow!

Then I start at the beginning and work through it systematically (again, changing the colors as I go along). Eventually, all the font is a nice blue color (since I start with blue, and after each scene has had its final edit, change it to match the scene ahead of it), and I can 'select all' 'change color' 'black' and print it out.

I find I don't make a lot of typos or punctuation mistakes, and most of these get caught in one of my scene edits.

Finish a scene, edit the scene.
Finish a chapter, edit the chapter.
Finish a major story arc, reread the story arc and edit as necessary.
Finish the book, set aside for a little while, read as reader, make notes, revise as necessary.
Decide whether or not to send to beta readers. Revise if necessary.
Read entire draft aloud and mark for typos, wordos, grammar. Correct as necessary.
Done.

Wish it was that simple and fast to actually do. LOL!