Writing Tips: Don’t Go Back to Reread or Edit.
When you are writing, that is what you should be doing… Writing. When you are writing, your brain is in a certain mode. You are in a creative mode. You are trying to build upon something that is not there… Create something from nothing.
When you go back to reread or edit what you have already written, you will break that flow of creativity. You will cause yourself to second guess what you are doing. When you start to second guess yourself, you start to change things that you should not be worrying about at this point. What you really should be worrying about is where you are going to go next with your characters.
So when should you go back to reread and edit? That is easy. Finish the first draft. Yes… I know it’s going to be very bad. That is OK. It is allowed to be horrible. That is why they call it a fist draft. Give yourself a couple of weeks away from the novel/story. Work on something else. Start a new idea. Then when the novel is not so fresh in your mind, go back and start your edits.
When you are writing your first draft and you decide you need to change something earlier in the plot, just make a note about it on the first draft where you are writing at the time. When you get to that note in your edits, you can go back and rewrite what you need to, to make the story work better.
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If you have other ideas on how to find story ideas, write a comment. I would love to hear how you are inspired.
