Do you edit or rewrite anything before you're finished with your first draft?

by Sandra Egger
14th April 2013

Do you edit or rewrite anything before you're finished with your first draft? I've never really thought about it before, generally I like to edit after a couple of days, but is it better to leave everything until you've finished your first draft?

Replies

Never. I always finish my first draft before I go back and change anything.

Profile picture for user andrewat_23446
Andrew
Atkinson
330 points
Ready to publish
Film, Music, Theatre, TV and Radio
Short stories
Fiction
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Adventure
Middle Grade (Children's)
Picture Books (Children's)
Comic
Speculative Fiction
Gothic and Horror
Andrew Atkinson
14/04/2013

Yep, all the time, I can't not do that. I always reread what I write and spot all the little mistakes I make. I find it makes it easier to write something if I've corrected the little mistakes because it makes it flow better.

Profile picture for user jo2167@y_25648
Charley
Bucknall-Smith
270 points
Starting out
Short stories
Fiction
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Middle Grade (Children's)
Picture Books (Children's)
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Media and Journalism
Speculative Fiction
Adventure
Charley Bucknall-Smith
14/04/2013

Personally when doing the first draft i liked to write it long hand a thousand words or so a day and type up that which was written a couple of days later. This i found gave me a chance to rewrite and edit while still doing my first draft. The reason some writers don't edit as they go along is because they get so bogged down i the detail that they never finish the first draft, they end up with a perfect first chapter.

I hope this was of some use.

Profile picture for user porcelan_24971
Clara
Lucea
270 points
Ready to publish
Film, Music, Theatre, TV and Radio
Poetry
Short stories
Fiction
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Middle Grade (Children's)
Picture Books (Children's)
Media and Journalism
Business, Management and Education
Speculative Fiction
Adventure
Historical
Gothic and Horror
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Philosophy and Religion
Clara Lucea
14/04/2013