When I begin to edit my stories, I take a completely different approach to my writing. As I mentioned in an earlier post, when I’m writing a first draft, if I realize I’ve made a mistake (something major, not a grammar or spelling mistake), unless it’s within the page I’m currently typing, I continue to forge ahead so I keep my momentum.
Once I’ve gotten a first draft down, all subsequent drafts are a whole other animal. I still go through page by page, chapter by chapter, but now, if I’ve missed something, I have no problem zipping back to an earlier page or chapter to make that revision.
The reason for this change in my attitude has to do with accomplishment. If I’m working on a second draft or later, that means I’ve already written the story once. The weight of that accomplishment isn’t lost on me. I know I’ve done something a lot of people want to see out to do but never see through.
No matter what, I have that first draft. All drafts I’m working on afterwards are saved as a completely different file, so even if I make changes that I don’t like, I still have proof of what I’ve already accomplished. While rewrites are hard trying to determine what you want to edit and how, this actually makes it easier for me.
It’s because I already have this version of the story written that allows me the freedom to dart around it making changes. Even after the extensive outlining I do, sometimes, a plot point or line of dialogue doesn’t go where I think it does. It takes a first draft (at least) to really understand how the story should come together. Once I actually have the whole story down on paper, I know what belongs where within it. It’s no longer about keeping the momentum going, it’s about making sure everything’s in its right place and when you read it it’s smooth as silk. With the two weeks I take away from my story, I’ve also got a fresher pair of eyes to review it, which makes it easier to spot changes that need to be made that I missed the first time, or the way a passage or chapter should read.
Remember, the hardest part of the writing process is over. The story has been written. Now it just needs to be reworked so that it can reach its true potential. When I look at rewrites from that perspective, it makes it a lot easier to make revisions, because I know I’m just giving the story all the polish it needs to be as great as it can be.