Yes, I Write and Edit at The Same Time
By: Jerren Gan
Tags: Writing, Editing, Fiction, Writers On Writing, Books

Yes, I Write and Edit at The Same Time

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

As a writer, I often find myself reading advice from other writers.

And amongst all the various useful advice shared in the writing circle, one particular piece of advice stands out the most to me: “While writing, focus on writing, don’t edit and write at the same time.”. However, for me, it stands out not because of its effectiveness. It stands out because I do the complete opposite.

When you think about it, these writers have a strong case. Editing while one is writing will slow the writing process down. For writers writing on the flow, editing might break their focus and leave the work undone. As John Steinbeck aptly puts it:

“Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material.”

And in the beginning, I tried to head this particular piece of advice. After all, if so many writers are preaching this as the gospel truth, there must have been some merit to it. Furthermore even John Steinbeck said so. Who am I to say that this method is ineffective?

An ineffective method

However, instead of allowing me to become a better writer, leaving all of my rawest thoughts completely unorganized and unedited made things difficult for me. At the end of my writing sessions, I was faced with this huge pile of ‘word-vomit’ that discouraged me. By itself, editing was already a tough and monotone chore. But to edit a completely chaotic draft? My motivation to edit was left in shambles before I even edited half of my work. And needless to say, the draft was left unedited for a very long time.

Yes, not editing while writing made the writing process faster. But what it did was to delay the inevitable. And for a huge procrastinator, leaving all the difficult steps to the end is a recipe for disaster. Sure, the writing process felt more enjoyable too (being able to put words to paper is the reason I became a writer in the first place). But you know what wasn’t enjoyable? Editing the mess I left for my ‘editor’ self.

For people who absolutely have to be in the ‘flow’ to write, leaving all the edits to the end makes sense. But for the rest of us who force ourselves to write no matter the situation (as all writers should aim to do), writing and editing at the same time actually makes a very small difference to the writing process. All you have to do is to ensure that you add an extra 20 to 30 minutes into your protected writing time to account for the edits that you will be making.

The natural thing to do

In actuality, writing and editing may feel more natural for you. When you begin to reread your previous portions as you write, fixing mistakes you see immediately is natural. No writer is able to write consistently for long hours without making mistakes. We make mistakes, and we should edit them away when we spot them.

For short form articles, editing as you write helps keep you focused on the point you’re trying to make. As you reread and rewrite, you’ll catch yourself before you begin to drift off. For longer form works, editing while writing helps ensure that you make the major changes you want early. No one likes writing a whole novel to find out that half the written chapters are no longer relevant because of the major edit all the way in chapter 1.

Building up your story

In a way, writing is very much like building a ship. Yes, if you’re purely fixated with just getting the ship’s frame out, a fairly trained professional would be able to do it quickly.

However, if you’re constantly reworking and ensuring that every part of the ship’s frame fits well, you would be able to end up with a much better frame. And with this higher quality frame, every other step becomes easier.

When I write, I constantly edit, rewrite, and polish. This slows me down greatly. But by the time I am done with this first draft, the rest of the pieces fill in easily. And as I write, I write knowing that there isn’t a mountain of edits waiting for me at the end.

So the next time you write, maybe it’s time to ditch the do-not-write-and-edit conventional wisdom. Go ahead, edit while you are writing. Who knows, you might find yourself loving the writing process even more in the future.