Perfect or Just Keep Going?

What phase are you in? First draft or later revisions?

For first drafts, I just pop back up to the section that needs changing and add a color-coded note. I then highlight the rest of the scene or chapter (all that's affected, anyway) and change that color, too. Then I power forward.

If it matters, my color codes are red (take out), green (put in), blue (edit the hell outta this), and purple (note to self). So my drafts tend to look like The agile quick brown fox jumped over the lazily sleeping dog . How high can foxes jump? Rex is a really big dog.

Depends. If it's such a big thing that it's going to potentially change the rest of the manuscript and I was only a short ways in OR if the characterization felt fuzzy in my mind to the point I was having trouble getting scenes down, I might try to work on it a bit in the hopes things would be smoother sailing. In general, I think it's easier to make notes of things to correct later, and keep going.

I go back and make notes to myself, either within the text (I use 'xxxx' to mark them so they're easy to find later) or as a footnote. Then I write on as though I've already made those changes.

I don't always wait until I've finished the draft to make them properly, but I avoid doing it each time I think of something — it's just too easy a procrastination device!

I actually have trouble writing more when I realize something is wrong. I have to go back and fix it, even if it means ten thousand words' worth of rewrites. In fact, most of the time I have "writers' block," it's really that my subconscious has figured out that I mucked something up and is throwing a fit till I go back and fix it.

Some people will warn you that this is a terrible way to accomplish anything, and I'm sure it won't work for everyone. I feel pretty good about what I've accomplished, though, and it saves me a lot of rewrites later. For instance, I have one trilogy spanning a quarter-million words (so far) on hold because I've realized that the second half of the first book just isn't working, and the stuff in there is critical to the second half of the third book (which is where I put the brakes on). I want to get that first book re-worked first to ensure I have a good foundation for the conclusion of the series.

Definitely go back and fix later.

If you try to fix everything at the moment, you are interrupting the flow of your story. That does not bode well-- at least it does not for me.

Just my two cents!

I edit the previous session before I start a new one, which slows me down but means the novel is in very good shape at the end of the draft and final editing is much more manageable.

I don't like to move on before I'm happy, as I get preoccupied if I didn't stop to fix something. Whatever works for each writer is fine.

I am part of the get it all out of the way team. For me the first draft is just putting all the words and story on paper, like chucking clay on a pottery wheel and then worrying later to make a beautiful and solid vase out of it. I pretty much agree with Hemingway and his quote that "The First Draft of Anything Is Shit." but I know that doesn't work for all people.

This is a false dichotomy, because perfection is unachievable.

I don't write in chronological order but I do get the drafts (as a whole) to a minimum standard which allows me to progress. Everyone does this, but everyone draws the line differently for "minimum". I think it can also vary depending what part you're on. sometimes minimum standard is just a list of bullet points.

I tend to write on my laptop, then keep a paper notebook with notes on changes to make and where alongside it. It's easier for me to have those note outside of the document itself, especially for bigger changes (which otherwise I can lose track of). If you feel more comfortable editing as you go, though, you should do that - it's just about what works for you.

CaliforniaMelanie said:

When you think of changes to previous sections/chapters which require pretty extensive alterations to the remainder of the section, do you go back and make the changes (which I find takes quite some time)? Or do you just power forward assuming the changes for following sections/chapters, and make notes of what to go back and fix later?

I find myself getting stuck on some basics - say, some critical part of a character's personality - and indecision of which tact to take, and then I'm just not sure how to proceed.

I'm sure everyone does this differently but I'd love to hear some various styles. Thanks!

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Whatever suits you. Sometimes when I get stuck going forward, I'll take that as an opportunity to go back and fix some earlier issues. And sometimes the fixes end up adding new insight into a character, which is useful when I move forward again.

I fall in two camps. If something about the actual plot is bothering me, i.e. I need to change the way a clue is worded, or I want to drop something in a few chapters back to make the current chapter I'm writing more coherent, then I'll go and do that almost immediately. At the very least, I'll keep a running list of changes I want to make on my phone for a day or two, and then sit down and tackle them all when I can focus on them. I've tried to do the "make a note and fix this in the second draft" method, but then I get so overwhelmed at all the stuff that'll need changing. In fact, that's probably why I thoroughly outline before I start and keep updating that outline as I go to match the way the story's changed in small ways.

That said, for things like descriptions or sentence flow, those are things I definitely don't worry about while I'm writing. I get the plot onto the page and make it sound as pretty as I can at the time, but I don't worry about word choice, word repetition, or the right amount of description of the scene until the second draft or later. That's when reading your chapters aloud can really come in handy, too!

Why, of course I keep making changes to previous chapters all the time.

Reading writers' forums, I am getting the impression that many people just start writing in the beginning and write until the story or novel is complete. I could never do that. The order in which I write the scenes bear little connection to the order in which they actually are in the text.

If you keep seeking perfection, then you're never going to be finished with your book. Looking for perfection is unrealistic. Just do what you can, and if you know how to edit, edit. If you don't, get books on writing and editing and read blogs about the same subject, and if you're not sure, ask a beta reader for help. That's what I would do.

I generally make a note to myself in the margin of the first draft and maybe try to add in something in the paragraph in a different colour to remind me in the subsequent drafts to add it in properly, then I just push on. It's a first draft after all. I just needs to be done. The perfecting can come later. I'm always wary of editing and redrafting before the first draft is done because it can be a nasty trap where nothing gets done.

Also, if you plan out the manuscript before hand, then there will be fewer problems regarding surprises. This being said though, I have just got to a point in the book I'm writing where I've come up with a better idea for what is going to happen and that changes quite a few things. All I've done is re-do some of my plan and re-jig how things work in my mind. But this is to do with stuff I haven't written yet. I can see that if you change something in the past stuff you have already written, that might pose more of a problem, but as I said (and so have others) make a note and deal with it later. Who knows, it might be fine by the time you get to the end!

IMO, if you are really and truly stuck on moving forward, going back can be worth it. (Other times, I will advocate for the "make a note" advice). I am talking about the sort of big, cascading change that will ripple out though the rest of the work, something you may not have planned for but makes what isn't currently working for you work. In my case it involved discovering a new character, killing off a minor one and inserting several new scenes (some from a view other than that of the main protagonist) and completely redoing others.

In this particular case, some of the reason for my being stuck involved trying to force the story toward where I wanted it to go and encountering resistance; the story needed more breathing room than I was giving it. When I went back I made the initial change and then ran where with it took me until I'd gotten back to where I was; that momentum did a lot to carry me through toward the end.