Monday, June 19, 2017

Rereading While Writing

QUESTION: How many times do you reread your book while writing it? I find I am constantly rereading my work over and over. I've probably reread it over a hundred times, I hope I'm on the right track.

Some writers don't reread what they've written until they finish. The advantage is they allow the story to remain organic and grow naturally.  The disadvantage is they can't correct elements of the story that no longer fit, and they many find it hard to delete those moments when they begin their first rewrites. (Sometimes, the longer a scene, etc., remains in the text, the harder it is to remove or change it.  Shrug.  Human nature strikes again.) 

Some keep rereading and rewriting what they've written.  The advantage is very clean text and no loose ends.  The disadvantage is they can rewrite to the point that they’ve sucked all the life and style out of their story.  Plus, they are taking away valuable writing time to do this and may lose the desire to finish the story.  

I do a mixture of both.  I start my day's writing by rereading what I wrote the day before to get myself back into the groove of the story.  I only reread from the beginning if I've lost focus for the story.  The advantage is cleaner text and I'm less likely to lose the main character's voice.  The disadvantage is some of my writing time is spent editing.

Every writer must choose what works best for herself.  

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