Do you revise as you go?

brendao · Sep 13, 2006

I've just started my second novel (halfway into chapter two). I've been mulling the story all summer, jotting notes and making a sketchy outline of major events. I like to have a general idea of where I'm going, but I love when things happen that I hadn't planned.

Now I'm bothered by indecision about whether to go back and revise earlier chapters as things occur to me. For example, if I'm working on chapter five and decide that my character needs to have more doubt about something in chapter one, do I go back and fix it right then?

I have a wonderful crit partner who looked at my first draft of chapter one and listened to my story idea. I came away from our meeting with some very specific ideas about how to improve my opening. However, she suggested just pushing ahead and getting the story out, then approaching revision as a whole. That makes sense to me, but my brain wants to go back and rework chapter one! Is this just a way that I'm trying to avoid the scary work of forging ahead? Part of me thinks that, and part of me thinks that clarifying earlier chapters will help me figure out the later ones.

What do you do?

Carrie in PA · Sep 13, 2006

Yes and no. I periodically print my pages out and read what I've got so far. I make corrections, and will go back and fix grammar/syntax issues that are easy to fix. However, my big edits are going to wait until I'm done. I plan to move a whole scene to the beginning, and I have to add a lot of details. So I just make notes on those issues, and I'll work on them when the story is done.

Flapdoodle · Sep 13, 2006

brendao said:
I've just started my second novel (halfway into chapter two). I've been mulling the story all summer, jotting notes and making a sketchy outline of major events. I like to have a general idea of where I'm going, but I love when things happen that I hadn't planned.

Now I'm bothered by indecision about whether to go back and revise earlier chapters as things occur to me. For example, if I'm working on chapter five and decide that my character needs to have more doubt about something in chapter one, do I go back and fix it right then?

I have a wonderful crit partner who looked at my first draft of chapter one and listened to my story idea. I came away from our meeting with some very specific ideas about how to improve my opening. However, she suggested just pushing ahead and getting the story out, then approaching revision as a whole. That makes sense to me, but my brain wants to go back and rework chapter one! Is this just a way that I'm trying to avoid the scary work of forging ahead? Part of me thinks that, and part of me thinks that clarifying earlier chapters will help me figure out the later ones.

What do you do?

I have recently started going back to making additions like you mention when I think of them. At the same time, I sometimes redo a manky sentence. I don't go back for "Major changes," though.

I've found it's actually made the first draft a lot better.

I used to just finish it off and leave "notes" (Using word) in the margin, but found that I never went back to do it.

Azure Skye · Sep 13, 2006

I print out each chapter after I'm done with it and stick it in a binder. If I find an inconsistency I go back and make a note somewhere but I try to avoid the temptation to revise.

seun · Sep 13, 2006

I don't revise as I go. For me, that would result in picking at the book as I go along. It would take me much longer to finish the first draft. Checking things such as names and places is OK for me but I can't do more than that.

Marlowe · Sep 13, 2006

I never used to edit until what I was working on was finished- unless I happened to see something that I wanted to fix, it seemed like a better idea to know what the whole story was going to be before I mucked around in it.

Putting stuff up on line after I write it has been a weird experience, though, cause I have to at least polish before I post. It can be sort of unpleasant- I'm so mired in what I'm doing that all I can do is fixate on words and wonder if I've used them too many times. Plus, if I find out I've got the timing on something wrong, I basically have to fudge it and hope it works.

So I'm still a fan of waiting till afterwards to edit. It's really a matter of your own comfort zone; I just find that editing with my "writing mode" as opposed to my "editing mode" can be somewhat disheartening.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 13, 2006

The reason it took my first novel 10 years to get through a first draft was because I revised each chapter until I thought they were perfect. So when I stopped that I finally completed it.

However, I do still go back and make subtle revisions if, as I'm going along, I change something about a character. Then I'll go back and make those revisions before I forget them, just for continuity's sake.

soloset · Sep 13, 2006

I have a section in my Overview document where I jot down anything that needs to be fixed or elaborated on in an earlier chapter.

I try to hold myself to working on just the current chapter as much as possible -- I have too many perfectly polished first-twenty-pages sitting around to do otherwise.

Button · Sep 13, 2006

I write each chapter in a different file. So when I get an idea for chapter one later down the road, I edit a note at the bottom of the page for chapter one. I don't go back and read through it until I'm done writing and I give it a rest. Otherwise you'll never get past the first few chapters. Besides, you don't know if you really do need it until the book is finished and you read through the chapters all again.

earthshoes · Sep 13, 2006

I do some. Especially when I'm feeling "stuck" or like I can't move the plot forward for some reason. Sometimes editing the section from the day before makes me either a) see where I went wrong so I can fix it or b)gives me the confidence to move forward. Just before the climax of Witness Tree, I essentially froze. I knew exactly what I had to do and how to get there, but actually writing it was nearly impossible for reasons I'm not sure I can explain. I spent a fair amount of time editing and reworking material. This is making the edits I'm doing now a whole lot easier. When I took my laptop and went to Montana for a week, I was finally able to do the last ten thousand words justice.

Prawn · Sep 13, 2006

I don't revise as I go, but I might go back and put in a sentnce or two or a note that says something like "EXPLAIN ABOUT THIS THING HERE"

JanDarby · Sep 13, 2006

I work in scenes and "acts," rather than chapters, and I tend to take a break from a WIP at the end of each act, before I write the next one (and my stories generally have two to four acts in them).

While I'm working on the draft of an act, I might edit the scene before the current one, but other than that, I keep notes in a "revisions" file within the manuscript's folder, for any ideas I have for revisions. Then, when I start another act, if I'm having trouble getting into it, I'll often go back and revise the first act, not for line edits, but for major issues, and that will also help kick-start me for writing the draft of the next act, reminding me of things I might have forgotten while I was working on another project.

Of course, I'm odd -- for many reasons, which in this context means I work on multiple projects, and have a sort of "nibbling" process for creating a manuscript, nibbling away at the story in assorted stages, but it works for me. Just thought I'd throw it out there, to confirm that there are, indeed, many different processes.

Make sure your urge to edit isn't a procrastination tool, but other than that, do what works for you and makes you the most creative and produces the best story you can write.

JD

soloset · Sep 13, 2006

ButtonTheCat said:
I write each chapter in a different file. So when I get an idea for chapter one later down the road, I edit a note at the bottom of the page for chapter one.

I write one chapter per file too, and that's a fantastic idea! I'm going to start jotting those notes down at the bottom of the chapter they're intended for instead of in one separate file. It'll make my overview file cleaner, too.

Prawn said:
I don't revise as I go, but I might go back and put in a sentnce or two or a note that says something like "EXPLAIN ABOUT THIS THING HERE"

I use "##" to mark out comments, or to scribble down great ideas I can't wait to use later in the chapter, or whenever I need to tell myself something. That way, when I'm done, I can do a search for "##" and make sure I didn't leave anything embarrassing in for an editor to find.

Not that I think something like that could sneak through my own revisions, but better safe than sorry!

Silverhand · Sep 13, 2006

I also write novels in parts. This allows me to have a finish line, so I can do small content edits. Other then that, I try not to revise as I go at all costs. If I did, would be mired in trying to fix my shortcominges for years.

Jack_Roberts · Sep 13, 2006

Yes. This story has written itself. Sometimes things will pop up and I'll think "Wow! That would be better if I hinted at that earlier on", so I go back and either write the hints or leave notes to myself in the color red, then after I finish where I'm at I then go back.

Just my two cents

Linda Adams · Sep 13, 2006

Yes. And no. No, I don't revise the first chapters as I go along. That was a lesson I learned from the first cut. We spent a lot of time going back and tweaking to fix things in the first three chapters as we went along--and once we finished the book, we realized where it really needed to start and tossed those chapters (several times). So I stay away from the first fifty pages or so and revise as I go along for the rest.

Bufty · Sep 13, 2006

No. I always go forward. I'm fortunate to have an excellent memory. If I think that what I'm writing may necessitate a change in an earlier chapter or chapters I'll scribble a note and fix whatever it is when I'm finished.

John61480 · Sep 13, 2006

Well, right now, I go back and revise my first four chapters because I'm within the learning process of "decent" writing. I've got the following scenes pretty much mapped out, but I would hate to go back after the book is done and work on the first couple chapters like I am now. My reasoning is that after I get a certain style down, I pretty sure I can stick to it with the usual amount of expected errors in the writing. I figure it would make my next draft easier and so on. I also need chapters to show in my upcoming advanced creative writing class anyway, and I don't want to throw out a very rough draft because I'm interested in honest responses. I admit, I'm hardly getting anything done, but I'm making a progress in learning the craft of writing.

brendao · Sep 14, 2006

earthshoes said:
I do some. Especially when I'm feeling "stuck" or like I can't move the plot forward for some reason. Sometimes editing the section from the day before makes me either a) see where I went wrong so I can fix it or b)gives me the confidence to move forward. Just before the climax of Witness Tree, I essentially froze. I knew exactly what I had to do and how to get there, but actually writing it was nearly impossible for reasons I'm not sure I can explain. I spent a fair amount of time editing and reworking material. This is making the edits I'm doing now a whole lot easier. When I took my laptop and went to Montana for a week, I was finally able to do the last ten thousand words justice.

That's something I do also, use editing as a way to keep going when I feel stuck. Thanks for giving me permission!

At the same time, I agree with others who've posted to say it can be paralyzing to nitpick - not to mention pointless if the ending obliterates early chapters! It's given me lots to think about.

I think I'm going to try Azura Skye's method of printing out each chapter and putting it in a binder so I have somewhere to jot notes to myself (Why didn't I think of that?).

Also, like JanDarby, I work in Acts, and I like the idea of holding off on substantive revisions until I'm done with an Act. I need to resist the constant urge to look back, yet I don't know if I can ignore my mind's nagging to "fix" all the way to the end!

Thanks to all who responded. I love hearing how others work.

DragonHeart · Sep 14, 2006

I've been trying to keep myself from editing as I go along. The main reason why I never get any of my WIP anywhere close to completion is because I'm a perfectionist, and if I don't stop myself I just keep editing and editing into oblivion. It's best for me to just get the whole thing done, then let my critic edit her wicked little heart out. If I see something when I'm writing, chances are I'll see it when I'm revising, so I try very hard not to edit at all on a rough draft.

~DragonHeart~

RedWombat · Sep 14, 2006

Sure, I revise as I go. The whole seperate-draft thing has never really worked for me--I write, and occasionally pick back over earlier things as they occur to me, or sit down and re-read what I've written and fix bits, which helps get me in the mood to write.

Whatever works for you, ya know?

pdr · Sep 14, 2006

How do you feel about it?

I have little time to write. I'm a perfectionist with a cruel inner editor. I just have to get on or I would never finish anything I started.

BUT
I can't complete anything unless the beginning is right. If the voice and tone aren't settled on page one I will waste so much precious time struggling to drag the story along, unhappy with what I am doing and not sure if where I'm going is right.

How do you feel? Can you write on knowing that you've got the way to fix your first chapter? Yes? Then do it and finish the darned novel first.

If you need to get the opening right, do it. Give yourself a time limit. Then write on.

If your inner editor gives you a helluva a time every day do twenty mins editing of yesterday's work but only 20mins. Then write on!

Finish the first draft then edit is a good rule if you can do it.

Ralyks · Sep 15, 2006

I usually revise as I go, leaping back to earlier chapters to make changes, especially when my story takes on new directions and I need to bring the earlier chapters into line with that. I am always afraid I will forget the revisions I intended ot make if I don't do them right away. But if I'm in a groove where the rest of the story is really flowing, I will not interrupt that flow in order to backtrack, because I'm even more afraid I'll forget where I'm going or lose the inspiration. Backtrack revisions most often occur when I'm in a lull with the story.

wordmonkey · Sep 15, 2006

If it's a big change...

...yeah, I will go back.

If it's a tweak, then I usually still go back and tweak. The main reason is that it goes through several drafts and I make various changes along the way I need to make sure that a change is made or it could get missed. Plus, since I am working on several projects at the same time I need to keep my ducks in a row.

Of course, I was about 100 pages into my first novel when I realized what the real story was. I pretty much scrapped the entire thing and started again. It ended up being so different, I could go back and work my original idea as a completely different book.

Alex Bravo · Sep 16, 2006

Wordmonkey, I like your quote: "An infinite number of monkeys, given an infinite amount of time, could write the complete works of Shakespeare. My deadlines are usually a little tighter than that, and I just have the one monkey. "

Theoretically, an infinite number of monkeys should produce at least one masterpiece. But I've also read that thanks to the internet, we now know that theory isn't true! And no, I'm not calling all of us a bunch of monkeys.
__

I usually try to plow through but write down changes I want to make so that when I'm finished, I start over. Unfortunately I keep rewriting and rewriting and rewriting. And well, I do feel like a monkey!

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