How to not edit

You keep writing.

Seriously. Forget about what you've written; proceed with what you're going to write. The object is WORDS. You go back later and make them into good words.

I usually have this problem. This is the first piece I've written where I haven't struggled with the inner editor.

What I'm doing is highlighting problematic parts. (I'm using OpenOffice, and I LOVE that function!) My inner editor sees that I see there's a problem, apparently, and is content to sit in a chair somewhere, filing her nails and sharpening her blue pencil.

She'll get her chance.

Or try not to write complete rubbish in the first place.

If you aren't certain about a section you're writing, either put it in italics or mark it with asterisks at the beginning and end so you'll know where to go later. Good or bad, it'll count to final word count and that's what you need.

When something is going rather badly, or I know I just wrote a crap line, I put a bold X right there in the text and move on. I've gone back and edited a line here or there, but usually only in dialogue so that when the characters decide to talk about something else, it makes sense.

I also grabbed a notebook and opened it up so I have two side-by-side sheets. On one side, I wrote a basic outline (only about a 1/8, because that's all I know). On the other open-faced page, I drew little arrows like "X needs to find this out before this" or "include a piece about this." For example, I forgot to write in one place where I show that one character has a gun (duh!).

So it looks something like this:

1. Blah blah <--gun needs to go here
2. Stuff happens <--need more foreshadowing
3. Lookit! Conflict w/Gun!

The two sheets just ensures I have a lot of extra writing room so one page doesn't get too cluttered (which in undoubtedly will). Since I made a note of the missing and/or bad elements, I treat the rest of the story like it's already in the scene and keep going. It can always be fixed later.

All in all, this Nano is going to end up more like a big outline than anything. It's going to need a lot of extra work when it's finished.

Mad Queen, one technique you might try is to use separate documents for writing and already written material. Start with a new, blank document and write until you feel the itch to edit overcoming you. Now move everything you've written into a different document and go back to your blank document to keep writing. If you can't see the rough first-draft material that needs editing, you won't be pulled out of writing by the need to edit. Just a suggestion.

I always write first drafts this way, or I'll never finish them. Just gotta keep going.

Mad Queen said:

Seriously, how do you keep yourselves from not going back and editing the rubbish you've written? It's driving me crazy. You can tell this is the first time I'm doing NaNo.

Click to expand...

Thank you!!! It's nice to know I'm not the only one suffering here.

I guess that's why it's a challenge. I usually go back over what I've written several times. When I have a chapter written, I write the bare bones of the next. Then I go back and add layers to the first and then the second. Bare bones write the third, go back one more time to the first and it's usually "done." Then add a layer to the second and third. Bare bones a fourth, go back to layer some on two and... Well, you get the redundant picture.

My critique group calls the process "Shreking." I'm dying without being able to Shrek! In fact, I'll confess to popping off 3K this morning and doing nothing but Shreking this afternoon. That way, I'll see which direction the story is heading -- 'cause sometimes it follows a path I never intended to take. My characters have minds of their own...

This year, my inner comic is giving me fits going "no, that set up won't work for that scene" or "put the rim shot on that joke" but I'm just plowing onward. Comedy/satire takes time to polish to perfection and that isn't going to happen until after Nano is over.

I finally got my inner editor under control during last year's Nano. I agree with the yellow highliting or x's around stuff that doesn't work. I know it's there and will be fixed later so I can just move on.

Like Cranky's, my inner editor is waiting patiently in a chair (except that she has two sharp red pencils and is knitting what appears to be a very long sock.)

I almost went back and edited something, then I slapped my hands and said, "No, no, NO! Not until December 1!"

If it makes you feel better, make a note of all possible edits so that come December, you'll have what you want to do firmly in your mind. Then continue on.

This year, I'm insane enough to try and edit what I've already written as I go along. I've already written about 7 or 8 scenes, so I can edit the first scenes without worrying it's going to affect my writing now.

So far (2 days) I have been reading what I have done in hard copy after calling it quits for the day. I edit for big stuff at that point. I just leave it at that, with the plan of doing a few days edit before the final day. (I am trying to bank words so I have enough time to edit.) If I don't get the chance, it shouldn't really matter. No one reads it, right?

I'm not editing as I write, but I'm definitely writing more slowly so I don't fling total crap. Just partial crap.

Most of my writing this year has been "NaNo"ish, meaning that I've been training myself to write a junky first draft. I only tried NaNo once before, three years ago, and hadn't written a thing in years and didn't really know how to go about doing it. One of my minor characters took over and decided she was the main character and began writing in first person and would address me, as her author, through dialogue. Silly, but fun. And no I didn't finish.

My goal with this project is to at least write my 1667 for the day. I'm not allowed to rewrite any sentence that has already been given the end punctuation until the day's word count is at least met. After I meet my wordcount if I have time I'm allowed at that point to go back and rewrite anything I want as long as my end word count at least meets my 1667 after the revisions. If I don't have time for rewrites or revisions that day then I must meet my wordcount goal for the next day before I can go back and edit the two day's worth.

This will make sure I at least make my 50,000 so I can win. After the first draft is done (which will definately exceed the 50,000 for Nano) I am allowed to go back ONE TIME to revise everything and do any preliminary rewrites. After that I'm putting it away for a minimum of four weeks but I'm hoping I can hang out for six, during that time I'll move on to another project. Then after the 4-6 weeks I'll take it back out, give it a read through and then a massive overhaul and voila, draft 2.

Mad Queen said:

I'm feeling better because I've just written three paragraphs I actually like. But then, this scene had been on my mind for months while the previous two hadn't. And the moral is: I can't just wing it. Either I plan a scene for a long time or it's going to be rubbish.

Click to expand...

Mad Queen, the same goes for me. Trouble is I have very few planned scenes in this WIP, so as rough as it's been, it's also interesting to really see it develop from bottom up.

Mad Queen said:

I've been thinking about it. We don't have to write the manuscript linearly, do we? We can start with the scenes we've already planned and temporarily fill in the holes with a short summary. Is this allowed? And later we can expand on the fillers as the good ideas come to us.

Click to expand...

Absolutely.

I try to go as linearly as possible and work up to the scenes I know. That's something I do often, not NaNo-specific. However, I find that during these filler and in-between scenes, I get stuck a lot easier. So instead of wracking my brain to finish them, I'll mark it and move on to something else. Still linear, still working up to that ultimate goal scene, but giving myself leniency where I need it. Trying to push something that doesn't exist yet isn't helpful to my whole process.

For my first two Nanos I wrote on an Alphasmart Neo. The screen is small enough to make editing awkward. It is possible to edit on a Neo, but awkward enough to discourage it.

I have a wonderful new MacBook Air this year, and I take it with me everywhere. It doesn't have the helpful limitations of the Neo, so I'm going to have to rely on discipline to keep me from editing. Eeep!

Dale

My critic is out in full force today. I'm meeting my word targets, but it's insisting that everything is crap and why continue. I gotta find a way to shut that thing up...

Not editing as I write is very difficult for me. I have a tendency to obsess about every word as I put it down, and then go back and obsess again when I edit the passage.

Doing NaNo is very good experience for me to learn to rough in my first draft right-brained. I did notice on my first novel that I created my best stuff when I could just let go and let it happen. Not that the stuff I did in my obsessive mode is all that bad, it just lacks the spontaneity of the right-brained stuff.

Also I crave the creative "high" that I get from working "right-brained." It's the same feeling I get when I'm totaling getting into a painting or creating an artistic piece on the computer. Yeah, I'm a creative buzz junkie, what can I say?