Does anyone do this or just wait till the end to do everything?

The Chatters
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What I mean is, does anyone edit their story as they write?

I mean like this; Say you are working on a novel and you finished only three chapters of the rough draft. Now, you want to edit those three chapters to make them a bit polished than what it was before rough and wonky. Whether the edits/revisions/rewrites or minor or a bit major, the point is that you want to edit all of the first three chapters then you will move on to chapters four to six and repeat the same thing.

Most people will wait till their story is entirely completed to edit and change everything. Others will edit as they write, but once it is all done, then they can redo some parts/chapters to make it a little better for the next editing or something.

What about you though?

I ask this because I am only one to two chapters into The Breakers and Red Reign, wanting to make changes whether grammatical or structural or something else.

There’s nothing too wrong with it other than the sloppiness.
I am just afraid it will screw up my vibe and flow somehow. Yet on the flip side, if I wait to edit once the story is complete, I won’t have the energy to do like I was supposed to do with that House of Naivin story.

sigh I guess I rather write my fiction without editing anything because I either don’t have the patience or don’t know how to edit a flipping story the “right” way.

Anyway, what are your thoughts?

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I always edit as I go along. I honestly don’t understand those people who get stuck in an editing loop and can’t move forward. Editing and rereading is the best way to make progress, in my opinion, but some people just can’t do that for some reason. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯

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That makes sense.

I was really debating on editing as I write (still is), but I just thought because I’m in a good spot with writing the rough draft, I should wait.

The decision is purely up to me. I just want to know what I will do in the end.

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I have a huge problem with constantly editing and re-editing my work. Funnily enough, it’s the same problem I have when playing a story-based game.

The chapter has to feel right, has to be what I envision, or I can’t move on. It’s not so much the grammar, but the flow, the words, the characters–it must at least feel like what I imagine.

Same with videogames, if the story/character I’m creating doesn’t feel right, I restart the entire thing and do all the dialogue options until it feels “right” to the story.

Luckily, though, I am moving past this, to be frank, insane loop. I kind of discovered it had something to do with my ADHD and other mental issues.

So, I’ve been practicing techniques to help with those symtoms and also techniques to “let shit go” and to ressure myself that no one’s going to see it yet, its fine if its not great the first time.

Still need a lot of work, so I practice with videogames, the first choice I make stays. No matter what. I force myself to be ok with making mistakes.

So, in short, yes I edit as I work. But as I practice these techniques and let shit go, I find myself enjoying writing on a completely different level.

Because, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t at all mind re-editing or doing a scene a million times. Often, it was the only scene I could think about. Finding new and creative descriptions, character motivations, or even new ideas for plot points I hadn’t rounded out was a blast.

Problem was, the editing process for this could’ve and should’ve been done AFTER. I was obsessed, and not in a good way.

Discovering that boundary and actually implicating it into some of my writing has felt like a breath of fresh air. On top of this, re-editing rough-drafts can feel like a kick in the head. Sometimes itll tear down your motivation.

My tip would be: keep going. Worry about it later. Get the whole thing out and then editm

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So, what you are saying is that you will still edit as you write, but won’t go to extremes or stress about it?

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Kind of, but this is not the goal. I want to get to a place where I can just write unburdened by the need to edit.

Heard a long time ago “can’t edit whats not there”. And they’re right. Maybe by the end of the story the chapter/scene I spent days “getting right” is actually useless and I just wasted my time.

For the most part, I discourage this. Though I will say re-reading at least the main points of a chapter can be helpful in discovering inconsistances/plotholes.

Editing something thats not whole though will not benefit me. Get it all out, then worry about it.

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I’ll only ever edit as I go if I come to a plot hole that needs the first draft changed, and ONLY if it’s. few things.
Like, the book I’ve just rewritten, I needed to change a character age because I calculated wrong in like chapter 10, so I spent an hour just changing it on my document and on Wattpad. Same book is a mystery and I can’t remember what it was but it was just a little footnote or something that plot holed me, so I went back quickly and changed it.

But other than that, I never edit - unless Wattpad eats my spaces, which it does frequently. But grammar/line edits/plot edits ALWAYS get done after the first draft is done and I’ve taken a minimum 3 month break. I just can’t - I get blinded and can never see what needs changing/rewriting. Grammar is one thing, and easy to do, but I do it all at once.

If editing as you go works for you, go for it. It’s personal preference, but it will take you longer to write, and you WILL strive for perfection when tbh, I think plot should take the forefront rather than making it “perfect”. No book, ever, will EVER be perfect, by the way. It can be on the shelf to never be edited again (aka published) and you WILL sit there some nights wondering if you just needed to touch it up again.

I just find the plot/characters benefit from me being detached and resting, and most of the time from me writing something else because thats how I grow as a writer. It can be extremely hard, especially if you or a reader notices something you DESPERATELY want to change, but trust me, it can sometimes be better to just sit on it and wait. Books are kinda like wines - they CAN be sweet early, but sometimes the best ones just sit there resting for years and years and taste all the better for it.

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I edit all the time. While I write, after I write, after I get comments. I stop editing once it is submitted to Watty.

I also just returned to a book I finished 3 years ago and did a full editing run. I have another old book I want to do next Christmas or something.

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True. That’s why if I were to make “edits” I would rather do grammatical changes rather then focusing on the structure and other things. I do in a sense want my story to well, make sense, but this is just the zero draft. I can worry about that when I do decide to really edit or just leave it to the side to come back later or something.

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Just write and worry a little later?

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You know what?
I am going to go five chapters into the story, then make small edits here and there and jot down some notes for future plan/redoes.

Just to let you all know I am probably not going to post any of my novels online. Mainly because I am stumped on what writing website to use that isn’t Wacky Writers’, Wattpad, Fictionpress, or RoyalRoad.

Maybe I won’t ever get to show my story to the online world and keep it all to myself…until something changes.

I do, I really do want to get better at writing fiction, but right now I am just enjoying the whole experience of writing on the seat of my pants.

So, I will edit once I get to the fifth chapter and so on and so forth.
Actually, it a weird thing because although I have no plans to show my fiction to anyone, I am starting to wonder if it makes sense to go into a full edit even once I manage to finish the novels?

What do you think, guys? I am starting to feel conflicted.

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I have to do some rewrites as I go because sometimes the sentences become so entangled that a reread shows they are incomprehensible.

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It is my curse to edit as I write.
Every time I open up my newest creation, I reread and edit what’s there before trying to write more, and often that means by the time I get to the part that still needs to be written my brain is a blank canvas.

There was a time WAY BACK IN THE DAY when I could word vomit all over my word processing program, write entire chapters in hours and edit them at a later date. As I got more practiced in “correct” writing, it became harder and harder to actually continue to do that. My editor brain has taken over and hasn’t let go.

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I don’t because the story is demanding to be let out NOW lol Can’t wait for me to go back unless it will affect the rest of the plot.

But I know a lot of people edit as they go.

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I miss those days! LOL!

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