Should I edit as I type? (or: Handwritten Novel Woes)

Bartholomew · Aug 16, 2009

I tried handwriting a novel, and I was really impressed at how much writing I can get done in a session when you peop-- I mean, when the internet is not around to distract me.

Now I'm faced with an interesting choice; do I type up what I've written verbatim, and then edit it later (Significant edits, mind you, not just the inevitable grammar, syntax, and spelling mistakes I've made) - or should I make significant edits as I see the need?

What are the pros and cons of each method? Are there any methods I'm overlooking?

Moleskine rules.

Lisa Cox · Aug 16, 2009

Well you've already written the first draft. The second draft is where we start the edits -- and usually it's the big things. Says I, who hasn't even finished the first draft yet...

cscarlet · Aug 16, 2009

I'd say do both. I wouldn't necessarily "dwell" on line-by-line editing, but if you see something as you're typing, it doesn't hurt to fix it then, or (for bigger changes) highlight it to come back to later.

blacbird · Aug 16, 2009

I do a fair amount of writing this way, and my approach is to "soft-edit" in the typing process. That is to say, if I catch something as I go, or if I've thought of a change, I make it. But I don't belabor the typing with a really thorough edit. That's my next stage, once everything is in the word-processor.

caw

Maryn · Aug 16, 2009

Another vote for the 'soft edit' of the obvious, glaring errors you see as you key the sucker in. Leave major editing for later.

Maryn, who handwrites only grocery lists

Bartholomew · Aug 16, 2009

Thanks, guys

aadams73 · Aug 16, 2009

I've done this and what worked just fine for me was editing as I typed it in. That may have been because it took some effort to interpret my own handwriting.

blacbird · Aug 16, 2009

aadams73 said:
That may have been because it took some effort to interpret my own handwriting.

Yeah, there's that, too.

caw

RJK · Aug 16, 2009

I could not write if I had to use pen and paper. It was only the advent of the word processor, with its ability to instantly fix typos or other errors, that I had any interest in writing. My first draft is on the screen. I fix small errors and sometimes do short rewrites. It is the second draft where I really look at the MS with an eye for fixing the prose.

Aggy B. · Aug 16, 2009

I write some stuff by hand. Not much because I tend to leave out words and then spend way to much time trying to figure out what the sentence was supposed to be. However, I have been sketching out the heart of each chapter with pen and paper and I do some editing/revising when I type it up.

I do not do major revisions but I find that there are ideas that could have been a little further elaborated, maybe a little more description or a couple lines of dialogue that will really flesh out an exchange between characters and those I make while typing out what I've already handwritten.

It kind of depends on the scene. Some get written pretty fully the first time through. Others are really bare bones and could use a little more meat.

As always, experiment with it and do what works for you.

Bartholomew · Aug 16, 2009

RJK said:
I could not write if I had to use pen and paper. It was only the advent of the word processor, with its ability to instantly fix typos or other errors, that I had any interest in writing. My first draft is on the screen. I fix small errors and sometimes do short rewrites. It is the second draft where I really look at the MS with an eye for fixing the prose.

I wrote a novel in a word processor once, and a whole bunch of short stories.

This is the first large-scale handwritten project I've done though, and I really, really like this method of writing. Something about seeing so many pages, each one dripping with text, is gratifying.

Libbie · Aug 16, 2009

I think it really depends on how you work personally. Some people get so wrapped up in "editing" as they go that they're just endlessly tweaking and polishing a chapter or a scene or a sentence. They never move past editing to, you know, actually finishing the book. If you're one of those types, avoid the temptation to edit as you go.

I don't get hung up on perfecting, but I wait until I've finished the book or story to go back and edit. That's because I tend to be more objective about what I've written if I a) know the entire story very well (as in, have written it all so I have a concrete form of the story and not just some nebulous "in my head" kind of thing) and b) have allowed the story to sit for a period of time without messing with it. If I can get my head out of the story for a while and start a new project or even take a little time off from writing altogether, I edit much more efficiently and fairly.

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 16, 2009

I wrote my first complete novel draft by hand in three notebooks. It was fantastic. I wrote and wrote and wrote and it got done. I didn't edit as I went, though I did write notes in the margins if I felt there was a glaring issue. But I didn't adress them until I had finished a whole draft.

Then, I tried writing my second novel idea with a computer. I'm still not done. I would obsessively print out copies to edit, edit while typing, edit instead of typing, etc... Anyway, it was bad.

When I tried typing up my first project other than verbatim, I couldn't get anywhere either, because I was constantly "fixing" things. So I decided I would only do sot edits of grammar and such, and the occasional sentence/phrase/image, but I would absoltely not under any circumstances whatsoever at all try to do major edits while I had an incomplete digital copy. Because, otherwise, I wouldn't get anywhere.

So, in conclusion, I'd type the thing up first, and leave the major edits fornsecond. Hope that helps.

ishtar'sgate · Aug 16, 2009

Bartholomew said:
I tried handwriting a novel, and I was really impressed at how much writing I can get done in a session when you peop-- I mean, when the internet is not around to distract me.

Now I'm faced with an interesting choice; do I type up what I've written verbatim, and then edit it later (Significant edits, mind you, not just the inevitable grammar, syntax, and spelling mistakes I've made) - or should I make significant edits as I see the need?

What are the pros and cons of each method? Are there any methods I'm overlooking?

Moleskine rules.

Do whatever works for you. I handwrite all my work - fiction and nonfiction. I feel more connected to it when I use pencils. Don't know why. I just do. I usually make initial revisions in ink then put it on the computer, save it on a flashdrive and print out a hard copy. I'll make more revisions later.

Blackest_Nite · Aug 16, 2009

I say either way you're going to end up having to type the draft. I would get it out of the way, but this comes from a very slow typer so... All depends on what makes sense to you.

Idkwiaowiw · Aug 16, 2009

For me, I find that I instantly edit as I type something up. I never TRY to edit as I go, it just happens. I'll be typing up a paragraph and my mind will just tell me, "No, no, no. That's NOT what you're saying. Fix that sentence at the bottom. Delete that first sentence. Add another sentence in the middle, etc."

BriMaresh · Aug 17, 2009

I always edit as I transfer, or I never make any progress with copying it over. It might be slower, but it does makes editing take less time, and it does do some polishing.

scarletpeaches · Aug 17, 2009

I'd probably mark up on the moleskine (which does, indeed, rule) and type these edits into the computer, print it all out and read over it again to see what, if anything, needed doing to it.

dadburnett · Aug 17, 2009

I think of editing as the polish, the finishing process. When i write, I simply write without getting distracted by spelling, punctuation and structure. Its more important to get the "story" thought written, to let it flow uninterrupted by any thoughts of editing. Once the basic story (chapter?) is done you can begin to employ the various crafts of writing and see it begin to take shape ...

Kitty Pryde · Aug 17, 2009

I'm a hand-writer too. I edit as I type, then when I'm done with that I call it like the 1 and 1/2th draft. Then I also go through a hard copy and edit as much as I need.

happywritermom · Aug 17, 2009

If I edited as I wrote, I'd get nothing done. I do the soft edit thing and just try to get to the end. Then comes the real thing.

Bubastes · Aug 17, 2009

When I handwrite my first drafts, I edit as I type it into the computer. Sometimes the edits are pretty extensive (adding/deleting paragraphs, etc.), but not at the line-by-line level of detail.

TereLiz · Aug 17, 2009

I hand write a lot of scenes as a first draft, which sometimes helps me keep from dwelling on the editing, as I sometimes do when I'm trying to type. I feel like hand writing gives me a freedom to write an imperfect draft that I can fix as I type it up later.

I'm the kind who edits (more line than plot edits) as I type anyway, so it's not distracting to me to change the wording I hand wrote to something that seems to flow more smoothly as I dictate my writing to myself.

Good luck!

Mister Cheech · Aug 18, 2009

It's beyond me how anyone can edit as they write. How can you write when you're constantly interrupting the flow of thought?

The Lonely One · Aug 18, 2009

Mister Cheech said:
It's beyond me how anyone can edit as they write. How can you write when you're constantly interrupting the flow of thought?

Well, on the flip side, I think glaring mistakes or misturns have an equal chance of taking some writers out of their 'flow.' I make edits as I go, on occasion, only when the words don't portray to me what I had imagined. It's more of a re-imagining of the scene, including the relationship to the language, rather than a strictly surface edit.

But I see the danger in this. It would be easy to re-imagine the same scene over and over and never get anywhere. I think if you are one of the edit-as-you-go-types you need to get into a serious habit of making progress.

That is, if you ever want aunt flow to visit.

I can't believe I just typed that.

Should I edit as I type? (or: Handwritten Novel Woes)

Do I make edits as I type, or not?

I'd edit as I typed, Bart.

No; type it and then edit a printout, Bart.

Other; see my post, Bart, you stud.

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