This post is for the writer’s out there. Now is the time to write. Later, you can edit. But you can’t edit and write at the same time–it disturbs the flow of inspiration. Writing first and getting the story out is important. Too many times, we start editing prematurely and that causes writer’s block!
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I know. I stopped writing for nearly twenty years because I was trying to edit each sentence before I even put it down on paper. A very frustrating process. I not only “put the cart before the horse,” but then I ran into it head first and knocked myself out for twenty years!
Time To Write
I’ve written about this before, but getting into the habit of writing is so important. Have a set time of writing and write. Even if you’re just writing “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,” a hundred times. It’s writing. Gettting words on paper. And it’s creating a habit. Eventually, maybe your natural curiosity prods you to investigate why the dog is lazy or how the fox got so quick. And then you find yourself writing down other paths, following other storylines and you find you need to continue.
Don’t stop to edit during your writing time.
One trick that works for me is that when I’m writing something that doesn’t work for me, I start a new paragraph, put a question mark next to the old one and then I keep going. (All of my first drafts are handwritten in Moleskine flexible notebooks that I take wherever I go.) If your first draft is on a computer then don’t delete any sentences or paragraphs that you don’t like. Highlight them in a different color and start a new paragraph. You never know what you’ll want to keep when you’re in the editing process, but if you delete it on a computer or scribble it out in a notebook, you’ll lose it completely.
Once I’m finished writing, then I start editing it all together. And usually what ends up in the final draft is a little bit from the new paragraph I started and a little bit from the paragraph I gave up on. That’s why I don’t scribble anything out—It’s a form of editing!
Do not start editing until you are done.
Time to Edit
I read about one author who would write in the morning, meeting his daily page or word count goal. Then, after lunch, he would come back to his work and edit what he wrote. This allowed him to have a starting point for the next day. That’s not for me. I have to write out what I need to write first. Then I go back and edit.
It’s up to you to figure out how it works best for you. To find that balance. But one sure thing is that the writing is first. The editing is second.
And when it’s time to edit, it is a good idea to have a program like Grammarly to help you along.
The great thing about Grammarly is if you are just using it for spelling and simple grammar….it’s Free! It works on most major browsers like Chrome and FireFox and can be added to the toolbar. You can even use it on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and Microsoft products. Grammarly even knows when you’re using correctly spelled words in the wrong way. And it catches when you put an extra space in between your words, something I do far more often than I like.
The paid version even does a plagiarism check against eight billion web documents. This is great for blog posts and for academic work. It also checks sentence structure and context.
Is this the be all, end all for editing? No, but it goes a long way in helping your work shine. Because it’s so much a part of my writing process, I don’t even realize how much it’s helping me. Or at least, that is until I open an old blog post that was written before I started using Grammarly. Then all the red notifications pop up. I find extra spaces in lines or the misuse of ‘to and too.’ And that’s when it’s time to update an old blog post!
Remember, there’s a time to write and then there is a time to edit. And Grammarly can help with the editing part.
Hi Jennifer! Good tips for us all and yes, I use the free version of Grammerly as well. It does make it nice to have a “check” in there when it comes to your editing. And I like your explanation of starting a new paragraph rather than going back and trying to edit while writing. I think I sometimes do it automatically but I can see where that would be a real help. Thanks for the suggestions! ~Kathy
Thanks for stopping by Kathy. I’m glad you liked my suggestion. Premature editing was a downfall for me. I had to learn to let it go and just keep writing.
Such a great point. I’ve heard writing and editing require different parts of the brain. One is the creative and the other, analytical. I agree that editing as you go is the quickest way to kill inspiration. It muddles thinking.
Sounds like that is right. Editing is such an analytical thing. It interferes with the creative process. I know for a fact that it’s a creativity killer because I was trying to edit my sentences before I even wrote them down….so nothing got written down.
I used to write and then go back and edit. It was terrible, awful. I hated my work sometimes, and if I was displeased I tore it apart until the story line just didn’t make sense anymore. Then ofcourse I’d toss the manuscript by the wayside to never return…or if I did find so much frustration in my dissection attempt to what now seemed like a perfectly fine manuscript to begin with.
Just write, my husband keeps saying. Stop editing it to death.
SOOO last year I sat down and I wrote. No edits, no going back, no reading it, no anything. Just writing, a chapter at a time.
This fall I was able to sit down with a completed manuscript and read my book through, it was marvelous, amazing, freeing, and I was oh so proud of it. Finally have it with a beta reader now, and excited to get it back with his notes.
P.S. My brother lives for Grammerly as he is in college!
I’m glad you found that balance that works for you. Some people can edit in the afternoon, some people can’t edit until the end. And some people shouldn’t edit, but allow someone else to review it!
I’m the latter for sure! 😉
I’ve never felt inspired to write a book Jennifer – it’s funny because almost every blogger I come across has a dozen books simmering away in the back of their heads – but not me. I do use a few of the ideas you have here for blogging though – if I have an idea I try to jot it down and any thoughts that go with it and then come back to it later to make it into something readable – other times it just flows out. I guess we’re all different and we all have different moods etc too.
You don’t have to write a book to be a writer. Sometimes things just flow. Other times it’s a slog. That’s the way it goes. But we keep writing because we must.
That’s a good idea you have for highlighting. I have a note pad app open on my Mac as I edit and whatever I cut out I paste onto the note pad in case I need it. However, I like your idea better. Thank you! And as for the quick brown fox, I guess we need to figure out what he did after he (or she!) jumped over the lazy dog in order to really get going. Mmmm, now let me see how I can apply that…:-)
Hmm, I think I’m going to be seeing some foxy ? print soon! I do like your way too of having notepad open and saving what you cut out to notepad. You’re keeping track of what you wrote during the edit process.
I spend my life writing! Thank you for this. It’s the kick in the pants I need!
I guess I’m glad to kick you?
I don’t know what I would do without Grammarly. It’s the best! I usually need to come back to what I’ve written at different times of the day to edit because I see things I want to change I didn’t before. Then, I read it out loud. That always helps too.
Yes, reading out loud is key for me.
I mostly don’t edit while I write, but I have to admit I do it some. I love to write in the morning and what I’ve set in motion continues to develop in my mind through the day. I write on the computer but always have a notebook with me to jot down ideas or edits to what I’ve started writing. I LOVE grammarly and recently signed up for a paid subscription after using it for free for a long time. I don’t regret it. It is a great tool for a writer. Keep on writing, Jennifer!
I always keep my Moleskine notebook with me because I never know when an idea might hit me. I can open up any old one and find an idea that I recorded a couple of years ago and now it becomes a blog post. I used to only use the hardcover ones, but after lugging them around in my bag every single day, I went lighter. I’m so glad they make the softcover ones now.
I need to convert to one notebook. I have several and then I never know which one I’ve written in. The only thing I can say in my case is it’s better than writing on shopping receipts (which I have also done!)
I have several, but they’re all the same kind. When I’m done writing in one, I just store it with the rest. I know exactly where to go when I’m looking for an idea.
I have to admit I do edit some as I write, but I try not to interrupt the flow of writing too much. I like to write in the morning and my brain works on the piece all day. I type my rough drafts mostly but always carry a notebook in case I have an inspiration or edit I have to write down. LOVE grammarly and just bought the subscription version. I don’t regret it.
I can really relate to the writing hiatus. I just noticed today it has been nearly two years since my last post on one of my blogs. I have gone back and edited or updated a few but a whole new fresh from the mind post is whispering in my ear to be written.
I used to do a lot of free writing years ago, whatever comes out (oops I just edited my first sentence – shame on me) comes out, and it is so fun and freeing. (a lot of strange stuff though 🙂
It really is the best way to go. You never know what will come out. Some will be brilliant, some will be crap. It’s just a matter of editing (afterwards!) that pulls it all together.
Just ordered a moleskine notebook! Going to try it. I know I have about a hundred tabs open in my brain at a time, maybe jotting it all down will help me not feel so anxious. I love this post!
Jotting it all down will help. Sometimes I put tabs in my Moleskine to section off parts. Sometimes I date it. And other times, I just go with the flow.
Wonderful post and lots of common sense and practical tips. I used to write and edit but these days I just let it flow, straight from the heart. The editing always comes much later.
I love this! I write the same way. I think it’s because often there are so many things I have to say I need to get them out and THEN figure out which ones make the most sense together, for that blog post, on that day.