w.

Stuck on a scene? Move ahead. Be cryptic. Outline it if you must. Get the basics down on paper. Write it this way:

"In this scene, Mary confronts Joshua. There's some arguing back and forth. M: 'Why did you say you'd help Mr. X when you know he's the one causing all the problems?' J: 'Can you think of a better way to keep him focused on the job?' She's moving around inside the store this whole time, nervously dusting objects as she's

One of the most common mistakes new novelists make is to constantly edit their work as they write. They write a paragraph, a scene or a chapter, and then they go back and try to figure out how to embellish the story, describe the setting, select better words or in general make the writing stronger. Have you caught yourself editing as you go along?

Stop!

When you're writing the first draft of your novel, you should never stop to read over what you've written, much less worry about editing. For one, you'll never finish the manuscript if you do this. I've participated in plenty of critique groups where after two years, novelists are still reworking the same chapters I critiqued two years before. Their manuscript is no closer to being completed than it was when they joined the group.

Another reason to avoid editing as you write is this: Your writing will become stale. The story will lose its vibrancy. Your characters will become lifeless.

Not to mention, you can't do your best editing when you don't have completed material to work with.

Editing is a powerful tool for the novelist, but it must be used the right way... and at the right time.

If you're starting a novel manuscript right now, here's the best advice I can give you: Write the story straight through. Whatever you know of the story. Whatever you know of the characters. Don't try to make sense of it all, and whatever you do, don't try to edit yourself as you go along. Forget about character inconsistencies. Forget about word choice. Put the dictionary and thesaurus somewhere you won't be tempted to reach for them. Write from the top of your head, from your gut, from your heart... whichever analogy works best for you, follow it. Just write the story as it appears in your imagination right now.

Stuck on a scene? Move ahead. Be cryptic. Outline it if you must. Get the basics down on paper. Write it this way:

"In this scene, Mary confronts Joshua. There's some arguing back and forth. M: 'Why did you say you'd help Mr. X when you know he's the one causing all the problems?' J: 'Can you think of a better way to keep him focused on the job?' She's moving around inside the store this whole time, nervously dusting objects as she's

r what you've written, much less worry about editing. For one, you'll never finish the manuscript if you do this. I've participated in plenty of critique groups where after two years, novelists are still reworking the same chapters I critiqued two years before. Their manuscript is no closer to being completed than it was when they joined the group.

Another reason to avoid editing as you write is this: Your writing will become stale. The story will lose its vibrancy. Your characters will become lifeless.

Not to mention, you can't do your best editing when you don't have completed material to work with.

Editing is a powerful tool for the novelist, but it must be used the right way... and at the right time.

If you're starting a novel manuscript right now, here's the best advice I can give you: Write the story straight through. Whatever you know of the story. Whatever you know of the characters. Don't try to make sense of it all, and whatever you do, don't try to edit yourself as you go along. Forget about character inconsistencies. Forget about word choice. Put the dictionary and thesaurus somewhere you won't be tempted to reach for them. Write from the top of your head, from your gut, from your heart... whichever analogy works best for you, follow it. Just write the story as it appears in your imagination right now.

Stuck on a scene? Move ahead. Be cryptic. Outline it if you must. Get the basics down on paper. Write it this way:

"In this scene, Mary confronts Joshua. There's some arguing back and forth. M: 'Why did you say you'd help Mr. X when you know he's the one causing all the problems?' J: 'Can you think of a better way to keep him focused on the job?' She's moving around inside the store this whole time, nervously dusting objects as she's

will lose its vibrancy. Your characters will become lifeless.

Not to mention, you can't do your best editing when you don't have completed material to work with.

Editing is a powerful tool for the novelist, but it must be used the right way... and at the right time.

If you're starting a novel manuscript right now, here's the best advice I can give you: Write the story straight through. Whatever you know of the story. Whatever you know of the characters. Don't try to make sense of it all, and whatever you do, don't try to edit yourself as you go along. Forget about character inconsistencies. Forget about word choice. Put the dictionary and thesaurus somewhere you won't be tempted to reach for them. Write from the top of your head, from your gut, from your heart... whichever analogy works best for you, follow it. Just write the story as it appears in your imagination right now.

Stuck on a scene? Move ahead. Be cryptic. Outline it if you must. Get the basics down on paper. Write it this way:

"In this scene, Mary confronts Joshua. There's some arguing back and forth. M: 'Why did you say you'd help Mr. X when you know he's the one causing all the problems?' J: 'Can you think of a better way to keep him focused on the job?' She's moving around inside the store this whole time, nervously dusting objects as she's

know of the characters. Don't try to make sense of it all, and whatever you do, don't try to edit yourself as you go along. Forget about character inconsistencies. Forget about word choice. Put the dictionary and thesaurus somewhere you won't be tempted to reach for them. Write from the top of your head, from your gut, from your heart... whichever analogy works best for you, follow it. Just write the story as it appears in your imagination right now.

Stuck on a scene? Move ahead. Be cryptic. Outline it if you must. Get the basics down on paper. Write it this way:

"In this scene, Mary confronts Joshua. There's some arguing back and forth. M: 'Why did you say you'd help Mr. X when you know he's the one causing all the problems?' J: 'Can you think of a better way to keep him focused on the job?' She's moving around inside the store this whole time, nervously dusting objects as she's

w.

Stuck on a scene? Move ahead. Be cryptic. Outline it if you must. Get the basics down on paper. Write it this way:

"In this scene, Mary confronts Joshua. There's some arguing back and forth. M: 'Why did you say you'd help Mr. X when you know he's the one causing all the problems?' J: 'Can you think of a better way to keep him focused on the job?' She's moving around inside the store this whole time, nervously dusting objects as she's speaking. Eventually Cameron comes in and interrupts the conversation by telling them the place they're arguing about is on fire and they'd better stop squabbling and get over there ASAP."

After you've written that little passage, move on to the next scene and continue with the story. You can come back later and flesh out the cryptic scene when you have a better idea what you want to do with it. The point is: Do whatever it takes to get un-stuck and keep writing. Don't stop. Don't think. Don't edit. Just tell the story!

This raises a debate novelists often engage in about writing styles. Some novelists are "outliners" while others are "pantsers" - meaning they write by the seat of their pants; they just tell the story as it comes into their head, and they don't necessarily know where they're going with it. The approach you take depends on your personality and the way you work best. But either approach is compatible to writing without editing.

Personally, I like to take some time before I begin writing a novel (no more than a week) to do a very basic outline and get to know my characters as in-depth as I can, through note cards and character interviews. I trace character arcs and plot lines, I look at various threads, I jot down various scene ideas on note cards - not scene structure or details, but just a one-sentence description of a scene I believe will take place in the story. I do all this before I write a word.

Once that's done, however, I start writing and I don't stop to edit myself. In other words, I create a road map before I start, but I don't fill in too much detail on the map, and I don't allow the map to constrain me. Most importantly, I don't stop to censor myself as I'm writing the story. If I move off track and write myself into a corner