When to edit in a short story collection

The Second Moon · Nov 22, 2018

I am currently writing a short story collection about the same characters and I'm on the fifth story out of ten. My question is when should I go back and edit the previous four. After I finish all ten? Or as soon I finish each story should I edit it? What would you do or what have you done if you've written a short story collection?

Another question is how many drafts do short stories usually have.

Elle. · Nov 22, 2018

Unfortunately there isn't a specific answer to your questions.

Regarding the editing, it depends what works for you, some people will edit a story until they are happy with it before they move to the next one, other people will write all the stories in one go and then go back and edit them.

And a short story like a novel needs as many draft as necessary.

Maryn · Nov 22, 2018

There's no right or wrong here--but there's a sensible. As you complete all the stories, it's likely that some facts will change or be established that don't exist or at least aren't mentioned in the earliest stories. For that reason, I'd wait until they're all done.

Denevius · Nov 22, 2018

Like Elle said, there’s no specific answer. It depends on the writer and their individual method to crafting prose.

Also, when you say ‘edit’, I’m not sure what you mean. Right now, it sounds like you’re writing purely first drafts of everything without going back and tinkering at all with what you’ve written. That’s fine, but once yiou’re doine, you’re going to have a lot more work to do at the end with editing, revising, and rewriting. And if the short stories are connected, you might end up losing some of what you’ve written in later stories because it no longer makes sense with changes you’ve making in earlier stories.

My own method is to constantly edit as I write. This has proven most successful for me.

The Second Moon · Nov 23, 2018

Maryn said:
There's no right or wrong here--but there's a sensible. As you complete all the stories, it's likely that some facts will change or be established that don't exist or at least aren't mentioned in the earliest stories. For that reason, I'd wait until they're all done.

I haven't thought about it that way. Things might change, so I should be wise and wait until I finish all ten. Thanks!

When to edit in a short story collection

The Second Moon

Elle.

Maryn

At Sea

Denevius

The Second Moon