Rewriting VS Revising...

It's not so much making a decision as trying different approaches and discovering what works best for you. Every writer's process is different; there is no one right way. Whatever path you try, be sure to make a backup copy of your draft before you start, in case you decide your first try isn't working out well.

Whatever your approach, keep a copy of your original draft. If your reworkings don't work out, you can revert to that copy, although I would still suggest you keep the original draft safe and run off another copy to work on.

ETA: or what Marissa D said.

I revise on the existing draft and save a new document by date.

But on my second novel, I threw out the first draft and am only keeping what sticks in my head as the bones for writing the second first draft 'from scratch.'

Writative said:

So you've written a novel and have your first draft. Then you read the thing, maybe make some notes or reoutline so your outline matches what you actually wrote.

Now, do you start with a blank document, using your rough as a chubby outline guide for where you want to go?

Do you edit directly in the rough draft, making it into a new creature through polish and sweat?

Or does it depend and, if so, what does it depend on? How do you make the decision?

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Different writers use different methods.

Whatever you do, stop now and copy the file.

Include a date in the name of the new file.

Do that on a regular basis, and every time you make substantive changes.

Now:

Some people prefer to revise on hard copy. You should do that for at least one full pass.

It's also a good idea to set the thing aside for a week or so, so you have fresh eyes.

Seconding everything about saving different copies. Make sure you keep back-ups of the old version in safe places, technologically speaking. You do not want all your writing saved in just one single place, like a single hard-drive. Store a copy in the cloud. Store a couple on a flash-drive. Store a copy on a back-up hard-drive. Email a copy to yourself. Print a copy. That way, any one or two of these things can go, and you're still fine. Do full and multiple back-upsat least at the end of every draft, and preferably more often.

I tend to version according to draft, which helps keep things backed-up and straight in the ever-expanding file system. Seriously, if you're just starting out with writing, you probably haven't quite realized just how many documents a book can and will spawn. And it's not the size of each file, it's the changes, the note docs, the beta-reader and editor copies, and so on and so forth.

As for the main question in the OP, I find I rewrite more early on and as the thing gets closer and closer to polished, I like to at least hope that I can start working more on a line level. Sometimes I find it very helpful, though, to just pull out a chapter and rewrite it. Then, because I have both versions, and old versions, and in-between versions all saved and organized, I often end up merging them so I can get the best bits of the old and the new. The rewriting process is better, I find, for generating new ideas. Line and paragraph level revision tends to be better for dealing with knotty plot/narrative problems and grammar, at least for me. YMMV.

Me personally, I just hit enter a few times in the same document (old version goes down half a page on the screen) and then start fresh by writing the new version while looking at the old version. Then as long as the new version is really better, I'll delete the old (but save it somewhere in a folder titled Archive - Such and Such Novel, as others are saying.)

What I never do (except in very rare cases where I honestly do think I nailed the original version) is just go into the old version and change a sentence here and a sentence there. Does. Not. Work. I can't work up a decent sense of flow and I end up keeping stuff I shouldn't.

I write a paper version, I review it, see what needs to be done better, then I set it aside and write the story again in Word or Textedit.

And because there's always that asshole in threads like these, I don't keep multiple versions & I don't save things I cut.

I keep the original, but I correct on it and I save it with another date. I don't re-write much, I mostly revise.

When I still used ywriter it saved a copy of my work every day so o could always go back, even months later, to salvage old versions if need be.

I am an extensive rewriter. I make sweeping changes between different versions.

Hello, I only use my outline as the idea's I have written down to just get them out of my head. Everyone revises different. Some people edit as they write, some print it out to actually see and feel it. If there's one thing I've learned on this website is, there is no one way of doing anything. Do what works for you.

Hopefully WLCT said:

Hello, I only use my outline as the idea's I have written down to just get them out of my head. Everyone revises different. Some people edit as they write, some print it out to actually see and feel it. If there's one thing I've learned on this website is, there is no one way of doing anything. Do what works for you.

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^^^^ That, in spades.

I spend quite a lot of time (2, maybe 3 months) on my outline before I get serious about the novel. That process weeds out ideas that don't have enough meat on their bones to make a novel, and it also lets me get to know the characters and the twists within the plot pretty well.

Invariably though, changes occur during the early drafts; characters get added and deleted and unplanned twists in the plot just sort of happen. Those changes are minor compared to what I would have to deal with if I just sat down and pants'ed the whole thing. Still though, I do a TON of editing passes. A lot of it is kind of a sorting operation, to make ideas flow in a coherent order. I also like to give my characters differing speech patterns (word usage, etc.).

Writing a novel is a LOT of work - and you have to sweat the details and be ready for the long haul.

I'm definitely a rewriter. I've messed around with my process some, but what I've found works is printing out the first draft draft that I'm remotely happy with (not necessarily the first one written, although it has happened), editing the hard copy, then using that as a guide to type in the next draft. Then I fiddle with the digital file until I'm happier with it, print again. Rinse and repeat.

But I definitely echo what everyone else has said: no one thing works for everyone. Heck, no one thing has worked for me for every project.

I write one draft and revise it bit by bit - separate sweeps for story, characters, pacing, dialogue etc - until it's ready to submit. Admittedly, I edit as I write and there are rarely any major changes.

All that matters is the final manuscript, so the method you use to get there doesn't matter.

Everyone has their own way to revise. For me personally, I do an outline, write the first draft, save, read through, make copy. Use the insert function to literally write over what I've written, adding, subtracting, and editing parts are I come to them.

AW Admin said:

Whatever you do, stop now and copy the file.

Include a date in the name of the new file.

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save-as STORY NAME - DRAFT #

Some people prefer to revise on hard copy. You should do that for at least one full pass

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I always revise on hard copy. Single space, times new roman 11pt type, half-inch borders. I use pencil. And if anything is larger than grammar or swapping words, sentences, or paragraphs around, then I write on the back.

Layla Nahar said:

And because there's always that asshole in threads like these, I don't keep multiple versions & I don't save things I cut.

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Why is anyone doing this being an asshole?

My process is a bit amorphous. I write through from beginning to end with no outline but a pretty good idea of where I'm going, with the details filling themselves in as I go. If I hit a snag or realize I don't like the direction I've gone, I start a new file. Usually this just means copying and pasting over the chapters I'm okay with, then going from there. From time to time, this means starting over from the beginning. After I reach the end, I go back and edit. If it's minor edits, I won't start a new file, but if I start rearranging or cutting scenes/chapters, I start a new file. Each time I do this, I name the file TITLE (n+1). So the first file is just TITLE, the second is TITLE2, the third is TITLE3, etc. Most my WIPs are at around 10-13. Within a file, if I have paragraphs or scenes I don't need anymore, I move them to the end of the file and put them in italics. I keep copies of everything on my computer, a thumb drive, and Dropbox. After every writing session, I save in all three places. To help ensure that I'm not accidentally opening and working on an old version, I put the "last edited" date at the very end of the file. Sometimes I'll describe what I did briefly, to further help me keep track of what I've been doing. This way, I never delete anything, I have backup, and I am keeping track of my versions.

I have never edited my writing in hard copy and never will. I'm too prone to squishing and pinching and swapping and slicing-and-dicing. I can't imagine how tedious it would be to mark that down on paper, then go back to it x days later, decipher what I meant, and transfer it to the file. I'd much rather just edit right on the screen. Of course, some people love to edit on paper! Whatever works for you.

Writative said:

So you've written a novel and have your first draft. Then you read the thing, maybe make some notes or reoutline so your outline matches what you actually wrote.

Now, do you start with a blank document, using your rough as a chubby outline guide for where you want to go?

Do you edit directly in the rough draft, making it into a new creature through polish and sweat?

Or does it depend and, if so, what does it depend on? How do you make the decision?

Click to expand...

I personally edit the original after I make a copy. If I don't like a bit, I will take it out, rewrite it, then put it back in. I never start over if I can help it. Cutting, pasting, and adding new stuff works for me. Everyone is different.

I'm not the sort to save anything I deleted. If it wasn't good enough the first time, it's not going to sound any better a month from now.