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@kate-flournoy, @dragon-snapper, @daughteroftheking, @jane-maree, @that_writer_girl_99,
@any other eloquent advisers?As some of you probably know, I have been working on a novella, but I have a problem. When I write, everything has to be perfect, so I constantly go back and revise the stuff I’d already written in the novella; I’m not moving forward at all. Other people have told me to just keep writing the rest of the book and revise it later, but I’m afraid that if I do that, I’d have to do so many revisions, that the plot would be tweaked and I’d basically have to rewrite the whole stinkin’ thing all over again based on the new tweak! And I don’t want that! Is there a way for me to revise the novella thoroughly, but still be able to advance the plot without changing it much?
You can pronounce it however you want.
@Dekreel honestly and unfortunately, no. You could outline your novel from the beginning (before you ever write anything) but that still won’t ensure that your story idea won’t change as you were writing it. In fact, it probably will, and that’s a good thing because it means your story is alive.
I’m a perfectionist too. I think I would have been the same way when I started out, only I didn’t start with typing— I wrote whole books out in notebooks with pencils, and it was too much work to correct by erasing and replacing, so I let it sit until I was ready to go through the whole thing again and start an entirely new draft.
Honestly, that was probably the best thing I did as a beginner, because it gave me the focus and perspective to realize I had to complete a project before correcting would be worth it.So I would definitely echo the advice you already got and say wait to correct. Yes, you might have to rewrite the entire thing. I did. All eight hundred pages. But it was worth it. It was totally worth it.
@Dekreel I don’t really have problems in this quarter because I’m very good at just ignoring all my horrible mistakes in a first draft. And I also enjoy rewriting the full novel because it’s fun seeing the massive improvement in it. xD But still, I have friends who struggle with this. Three things you can try:
1: (as Kate said) write in notebooks/physical paper because it /can’t/ be revised.
2: try your very best not to correct because rewriting the full novel is actually incredibly good for the quality of your story. I highly recommend it, actually. (this option didn’t really work for my friends, unfortunately, but it might for you. I may as well put it here anyway. 😛 )
3: Write one chapter one day. Next day, read and revise that chapter and then write the next chapter. The next day, read chapter one, revise chapter two, then write chapter three. Next day, read chapter two, revise chapter three, write chapter four. And so on. It’s a slow progress, but it’s progress and it ends out much more smooth than a normal first draft would.
Writing Heroes ♦ Writing Hope // janemareeauthor.com.au
@Dekreel I agree with everything @kate-flournoy and @jane-maree have said so far. Writing on paper is a good idea for the first draft. In fact, that’s what I’ve done for a lot of my novels. I write the first draft in a notebook and then edit it as I type it up.
I know it can be hard to fight those perfectionist urges, but honestly it’s a bad idea to edit during your first draft, or else you’ll never get anywhere, you’ll never finish. Go Teen Writers published an article on constantly rewriting which I thought was very good.
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com.au/2017/10/writing-mistakes-ive-made-obsessively.html
I hope that helps!INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.
@dekreel A fellow perfectionist! 😀 I don’t have anything to say that hasn’t already been said, so… *in a burst of randomness* have a bungee cord!! *presents you with bungee cord for no apparent reason*
Blog: https://weridasusual.home.blog/
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