Editing

While producing a first draft I only change something that might have a direct impact on the story further on. For instance, I wandered quite off plot during my first novel, had to strip the offending section back and rewrite from where the tangent started. I don't start removing anything (with me it's always removal because I write too much!) until the whole story is in place. That way I can look at it as a whole and see the things that are less important/easy to detach.

If you are going to edit sooner, I recommend simply putting passages into a deadfile so they can be retrieved if you change your mind without having to sit pondering the exact wording of your murdered darlings.

Gayle, do you keep notes, like a time line of events, made up cultures? I find it easier to make those as I write, like character descriptions and so on, so I can read back over them or refer to them as needed.

I have made up a world with seven seperate kingdoms, with their own cultures, traits and descriptions. City names, river names, mountain names, so its alot easier to check my notes than go back through my work

I couldn't imagine not editing my novel as I go. I'm constantly re-editing bits as I go along. But then, I am writing a supernatural novel that is set in a made up town. So there's so many bits that I haven't figured out yet but they come to me as I write so I tend to need to do a bit of back tracking.