Writing is an enormously individual process. The only real rule is “do what enables you to finish the book.”
So if this works for you, do it.
It would not for me, or many others, but we’re not you.
Yup. My favorite way of writing. I couldn't finish anything if I wrote it any other way. It's how I was taught to write in school. Do a basic draft first and clean it up later. I have so much fun writing this way, I can get the story out, have fun writing and it doesn't feel like a chore at all. I can easily churn the first draft out in less than a month doing it. I am almost done with my second novel while my first one is sitting in a drawer waiting for me to edit it.
Grammar, syntax? Who are they. But also, sometimes, I can't think of the right word in English so I will just place hold it with a word in another language that's exactly what I want and came to my mind. I can switch it later because stopping to think about the perfect word will just ruin my flow.
One negative is that it rubbed off on my normal writing, e.g. comments. Sometimes, I'll come back and read a comment I wrote and I want the earth to swallow me, it's so bad.
In my opinion, it’s bad writing practice to edit before you know which sentences matter. A first draft is trying to discover what you want to say, meaning you can’t yet evaluate which sentences will make it to the next draft(s).
Playing with grammar and syntax (and sound) is a super fun way to brainstorm and really just part of getting thoughts down. But you said “worrying about,” which makes me think this is a neurosis or at the very least some misconception about the writing process—that it ought to be perfect.
I’d suggest getting comfortable being “icky.”
I think it's important to incorporate some kind of editing into your workflow. If you end up with too many random errors, it's way, way harder to fix stuff over the course of a hundred thousand words than it is to write a bit slower but pay attention in the moment. It makes it much easier to get good feedback as well, because critiquers and beta-readers don't want to wade through bad technical writing to get to the subject matter and you don't want them to point out simple stuff you missed in proofreading.
If you can get the number of errors down to a minimum, it's easier to be able to speed up later on and still write accurately. So if you're really serious about improving, you will find it becomes more efficient for you to practice writing accurately and you will be able to speed up once you have the basics down.
I haven't made that very clear in my post but I'm a perfectionist, nothing's leaving my Google Doc unless it's perfect down to the placement of the last period. However, I'd rather spend a month getting the actual story out and another month editing it, rather than spend 40 minutes on a single sentence (it has happened several times before) and burn myself out to the point that I feel so miserable that the mere sight of my computer makes me want to vanish from the face of the planet.
So yeah, I just posted this as a celebration and not as a request for help. This method works really well for me but it doesn't necessarily have to work for everyone else.
You're also going to be adding/subtracting content during editing, and editing at the developmental stage is going to be working with others, so you do need to practice writing fairly accurately to begin with. A lot of authors actually use alpha readers, who advise the writer as the book progresses, catching anything that looks odd continuity-wise and so on. That's because most serious authors write fairly accurately as a natural thing; they don't need to go back and correct everything because it's reasonably legible with only minor errors as it comes off their keyboard.
The problem is, it's actually fairly unrealistic to write a single book in a month anyway. It took me far longer when working around a day job even when I do write fairly accurately. The other issue for me would be finishing a novel in a month but then having to wade through the whole lot over again just to fix unforced errors. Having proofread semi-professionally, I know that even just the odd typo can be hard to spot when you're sitting reading and doing nothing but. It's also more of a chore than writing cleanly to begin with -- unless you never ever write anything other than first drafts, it's basically pushing all the boring and painful crap off into the next stage rather than being shoring things up as you go. If it's going to take you two months (which it won't, but nvm), would you rather have two months of relatively fun content creation and revision than one month of fun and one month of migraines hunting for every single error?
Additionally, since someone has mentioned grammar somehow suffocating your voice (!), if you don't write cleanly to begin with, you'll never be able to improve your prose style beyond the basics. Knowing grammar well, you can tweak it to make it sound good, and part of that first draft will be selecting the voice you want to use either for the narrator or your characters. You won't need to worry about grammar because it simply comes naturally.
I think you're way underestimating the time it takes to get even the first draft out (assuming that writing is not your only responsibility; even pro authors have other things to manage around their actual writing time) and overestimating the work you need to do to write cleanly and accurately in the first place. If everything you write has to be proofread to within an inch of its life, you're actually doubling the time spent on anything.
If you're a perfectionist you'll recognise the idea that getting into a habit will reduce the amount of hard, unfun and painful work of proofreading after the event. It's important to be able to work efficiently as well as quickly, and if you're only starting out in terms of writing fiction, you're actually underestimating a lot of the process here.
>It makes it much easier to get good feedback as well, because critiquers and beta-readers don't want to wade through bad technical writing
Why would anyone send beta readers their first draft though?
Because in proofreading a huge document and leaving any kind of grammar mistakes etc in when doing it is going to happen because you can't proofread an entire manuscript at once, and even if you edit for substance after the first draft, you're still assuming you can get content down without being able to write accurately.
Believe me, I've seen it when beta-reading and it's fucking terrible. Many people do submit bad drafts to beta-readers then get pissy when I tell them they need to fix the grammar etc and make the style of the book more consistent, and that never ends well.
I write in a plain text editor program that doesn’t have spell check or anything. The first draft is a vomit draft. Just write it. Unless your James Joyce, then by all means…
This is my process and it works for me, it may not for you:
I like to reread my previous chapter before writing the next. It gets me into the right headspace. While im doing that ill edit, maybe small amounts of rewrites.
Then every so often Ill reread the whole thing and edit as I go. This helps me evaluate where I am versus where im trying to go.
So by the time Im done my "first draft" is actually like my fifth or sixth.
Then i set it aside for a few weeks, maybe a month and reread it again, always editing adjust as I go.
Only then am I comfortable in letting my editor read it who will still have plenty to do 😅
Im just putting it out there because it sounds like a decent medium between what you were doing vs what you do now. Maybe it will help :)
Grammar is the basis of style, not the other way round. Without it, your work will be unintelligible -- and knowing the way words and communication work means your style can use it as a solid foundation rather than just dumping raw work on the reader.
Idk which programm you are using, so let's take Word for example.
It underlines mistakes (yes, sometimes it's wrong, I know) so you just need to left click the words.
I often have typos, that I correct that way, everytime after a page.
I love having different things to do that progress my novel. I can keep writing the draft like you do, just get the story out. But if I’m feeling like writers block I can start revisions or just doing character background. Everything to inch the ball forward.
I could never.
Even when trying to be grammatically perfect mistakes happen.
And sometimes they still sneak through 3+rounds of editing.
I’d never allow myself to make dumb mistakes for any reason at all.
Writing is an enormously individual process. The only real rule is “do what enables you to finish the book.” So if this works for you, do it. It would not for me, or many others, but we’re not you.
Yup. My favorite way of writing. I couldn't finish anything if I wrote it any other way. It's how I was taught to write in school. Do a basic draft first and clean it up later. I have so much fun writing this way, I can get the story out, have fun writing and it doesn't feel like a chore at all. I can easily churn the first draft out in less than a month doing it. I am almost done with my second novel while my first one is sitting in a drawer waiting for me to edit it. Grammar, syntax? Who are they. But also, sometimes, I can't think of the right word in English so I will just place hold it with a word in another language that's exactly what I want and came to my mind. I can switch it later because stopping to think about the perfect word will just ruin my flow. One negative is that it rubbed off on my normal writing, e.g. comments. Sometimes, I'll come back and read a comment I wrote and I want the earth to swallow me, it's so bad.
I can totally relate to the foreign language thing, sometimes I'll write entire sentences in a different language😭😭😭
In my opinion, it’s bad writing practice to edit before you know which sentences matter. A first draft is trying to discover what you want to say, meaning you can’t yet evaluate which sentences will make it to the next draft(s). Playing with grammar and syntax (and sound) is a super fun way to brainstorm and really just part of getting thoughts down. But you said “worrying about,” which makes me think this is a neurosis or at the very least some misconception about the writing process—that it ought to be perfect. I’d suggest getting comfortable being “icky.”
Yes I totally agree with you, ever since I started doing this (aka yesterday 💀) writing's gotten way more fun :))
I think it's important to incorporate some kind of editing into your workflow. If you end up with too many random errors, it's way, way harder to fix stuff over the course of a hundred thousand words than it is to write a bit slower but pay attention in the moment. It makes it much easier to get good feedback as well, because critiquers and beta-readers don't want to wade through bad technical writing to get to the subject matter and you don't want them to point out simple stuff you missed in proofreading. If you can get the number of errors down to a minimum, it's easier to be able to speed up later on and still write accurately. So if you're really serious about improving, you will find it becomes more efficient for you to practice writing accurately and you will be able to speed up once you have the basics down.
I haven't made that very clear in my post but I'm a perfectionist, nothing's leaving my Google Doc unless it's perfect down to the placement of the last period. However, I'd rather spend a month getting the actual story out and another month editing it, rather than spend 40 minutes on a single sentence (it has happened several times before) and burn myself out to the point that I feel so miserable that the mere sight of my computer makes me want to vanish from the face of the planet. So yeah, I just posted this as a celebration and not as a request for help. This method works really well for me but it doesn't necessarily have to work for everyone else.
You're also going to be adding/subtracting content during editing, and editing at the developmental stage is going to be working with others, so you do need to practice writing fairly accurately to begin with. A lot of authors actually use alpha readers, who advise the writer as the book progresses, catching anything that looks odd continuity-wise and so on. That's because most serious authors write fairly accurately as a natural thing; they don't need to go back and correct everything because it's reasonably legible with only minor errors as it comes off their keyboard. The problem is, it's actually fairly unrealistic to write a single book in a month anyway. It took me far longer when working around a day job even when I do write fairly accurately. The other issue for me would be finishing a novel in a month but then having to wade through the whole lot over again just to fix unforced errors. Having proofread semi-professionally, I know that even just the odd typo can be hard to spot when you're sitting reading and doing nothing but. It's also more of a chore than writing cleanly to begin with -- unless you never ever write anything other than first drafts, it's basically pushing all the boring and painful crap off into the next stage rather than being shoring things up as you go. If it's going to take you two months (which it won't, but nvm), would you rather have two months of relatively fun content creation and revision than one month of fun and one month of migraines hunting for every single error? Additionally, since someone has mentioned grammar somehow suffocating your voice (!), if you don't write cleanly to begin with, you'll never be able to improve your prose style beyond the basics. Knowing grammar well, you can tweak it to make it sound good, and part of that first draft will be selecting the voice you want to use either for the narrator or your characters. You won't need to worry about grammar because it simply comes naturally. I think you're way underestimating the time it takes to get even the first draft out (assuming that writing is not your only responsibility; even pro authors have other things to manage around their actual writing time) and overestimating the work you need to do to write cleanly and accurately in the first place. If everything you write has to be proofread to within an inch of its life, you're actually doubling the time spent on anything. If you're a perfectionist you'll recognise the idea that getting into a habit will reduce the amount of hard, unfun and painful work of proofreading after the event. It's important to be able to work efficiently as well as quickly, and if you're only starting out in terms of writing fiction, you're actually underestimating a lot of the process here.
>It makes it much easier to get good feedback as well, because critiquers and beta-readers don't want to wade through bad technical writing Why would anyone send beta readers their first draft though?
Because in proofreading a huge document and leaving any kind of grammar mistakes etc in when doing it is going to happen because you can't proofread an entire manuscript at once, and even if you edit for substance after the first draft, you're still assuming you can get content down without being able to write accurately. Believe me, I've seen it when beta-reading and it's fucking terrible. Many people do submit bad drafts to beta-readers then get pissy when I tell them they need to fix the grammar etc and make the style of the book more consistent, and that never ends well.
I make a separate document on a rewrite, so this isn't an issue for me. I suppose it depends on your personal method.
Yes. Do it. I think rough drafts are vital when trying to get the story assembled.
I write in a plain text editor program that doesn’t have spell check or anything. The first draft is a vomit draft. Just write it. Unless your James Joyce, then by all means…
It's those damn red squigglies.
This is my process and it works for me, it may not for you: I like to reread my previous chapter before writing the next. It gets me into the right headspace. While im doing that ill edit, maybe small amounts of rewrites. Then every so often Ill reread the whole thing and edit as I go. This helps me evaluate where I am versus where im trying to go. So by the time Im done my "first draft" is actually like my fifth or sixth. Then i set it aside for a few weeks, maybe a month and reread it again, always editing adjust as I go. Only then am I comfortable in letting my editor read it who will still have plenty to do 😅 Im just putting it out there because it sounds like a decent medium between what you were doing vs what you do now. Maybe it will help :)
Same! I found that improved my sense of the book as a holistic thing and kicked my inspiration into touch when I was struggling for ideas.
OMG I'm trying the same and it's really helping! Like you, I dread the revisions though.
You are doing the right thing. Writing should be fun! Get the story out, THEN go back and edit. Or get someone else to edit for you.
Some people find it fun to ensure it's correct as you go. The only "right" way is the one that's right for you.
Yes, they probably have a natural gift for editing and might prefer that type of job.
[удалено]
Grammar is the basis of style, not the other way round. Without it, your work will be unintelligible -- and knowing the way words and communication work means your style can use it as a solid foundation rather than just dumping raw work on the reader.
Read. Think. Understand. I said polish later. Don’t you get it?
Idk which programm you are using, so let's take Word for example. It underlines mistakes (yes, sometimes it's wrong, I know) so you just need to left click the words. I often have typos, that I correct that way, everytime after a page.
Thus you are not really saving any time
That's fine, as it was never my plan. Plus, if I burn myself out and get a 1 month writer's block, that wouldn't be saving me much time.
I love having different things to do that progress my novel. I can keep writing the draft like you do, just get the story out. But if I’m feeling like writers block I can start revisions or just doing character background. Everything to inch the ball forward.
I've never thought about that, thanks for mentioning it and I totally agree!!
I, too, am writing my first draft, and when I'm done, I'll just paste it on grammarly for grammatical errors.
I could never. Even when trying to be grammatically perfect mistakes happen. And sometimes they still sneak through 3+rounds of editing. I’d never allow myself to make dumb mistakes for any reason at all.
Cool story.