Writing and Editing...two different worlds.

Writing and editing…the most important parts in a writer’s life but two very different parts. Writing is the core of a writer’s life. It is where we are called to create our story, to build our characters, to give them substance and make them real, make the reader care about them and keep them interested and curious about their lives so they want to keep reading and reading and get attached with them. When we write we must be focused on that and not trouble our mind with anything else.

When I am writing, the story is only that matters until I finish my first draft. I write constantly and I look back only to remember what had forgotten or to read a chapter in order to find my inspiration when I have lost it. When that draft is over, it’s time to edit!

Editing is very important too because you make your story beautiful and you fix errors, misspellings, you do corrections, organizations, modifications and everything else that bothers you in order to make your manuscript ready for another person to read. Of course it is as important as the writing part and attention must be paid but everything in the right time.

Don’t ever mix writing and editing. EVER. Why? Let me tell you what I think.

When I write and I stop because I want to edit, my mind gets in a whole different mode. I read the manuscript trying to spot misspellings and the other stuff I told you about and the result is that I lose the point, which is the story. In times of creation I like to stick on that, to make the core of my book steady and strong. How am I going to do that when I change between editing and writing? There may be people who do this but it just doesn’t work for me. When I am concentrated on writing I can do better and so don’t mix things up. The same applies for editing too. When I edit I want to be focused there so I can give 100% of myself on that.

Given all that I have a rule. First I write and then I edit. What rule do you follow? Feel free to share.