Editing less?

Hello again!

As of writing this, I'm about 1/3 of the way through the pre-edit proofread of my WIP, and I've come to a shocking revelation... it's not that bad. Don't get me wrong, it's still a first draft, but there are far fewer structural issues, and general messiness than I'm used to in my first drafts. So... how did I get here? Let's take a look, shall we?

I've made many, many changes to my writing style, since 2016 (roughly when I started writing The Shoreline of Memory) but lately, I've made some relatively small changes that have had a HUGE impact on my writing/editing! So, for ease of reading, I'll share three of them today!

1. Don't write after 10 PM.

The time is flexible, of course, but not writing after a certain hour has seriously cut down on basic errors, (typos, skipped words, repeated phrases... etc.) There was a time when I almost always wrote late at night, but, with practice, I've learned I tend to do my best writing between two PM and ten PM. 

2. Use the grammar checker before starting the first edit. 

While changing my writing hours has reduced the number of basic errors in my book, my first drafts are still from technical perfection. Running it through a grammar checker before my first edit has saved a lot of "Oh, that's not the right word!" and "Whoops!  I mistyped that!" 

3. Remember that it doesn't have to be perfect... yet.

I have long since abandoned the belief that I can polish a book in a single edit. That's just not how writing works, (for me.) Realizing this has made a huge difference in how I approach my manuscript, especially my first drafts. It's a lot easier to have grace for a work in progress when I'm not beating myself up for "failing" to write a perfect book, in one go. 

Have a great day, and keep writing!