‘Write now and edit later.’ I hear this mantra all the time. Writing teachers push it because it helps you beat writer’s block and speed up your writing. But does it work? Or rather, does it work for everyone?
Okay, I'm gonna make a confession: I edit as I go. I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember.
Whether it’s fiction, content or copy, I write the first lines and then go back and tweak them. It’s mainly vocabulary or structural changes, depending on how the ideas are unfolding. I may even fix a writing blind spot, like wordiness or using 'in fact' too much – as long as it doesn't slow down my progress.
I do this because it's easier to continue if I've got a solid base. It’s that simple. After the piece is finished, I let it breathe (it could be for an hour or even a few days) and then give it a light edit.
But three years ago, I decided to mix things up. I was writing content for clients and I wanted to speed up the process. I thought it might boost my hourly rate and free up more time. (And who doesn’t want more time?)
So after years of editing as I write, I churned out a first draft without using the backspace key. And I’m not gonna lie. It was painful. When I finally looked at that draft, it was repetitive, structurally messy, full of typos and … seemingly irredeemable.
People may say it’s easier to edit garbage than a blank page, but editing garbage is like starting from scratch – for me, at least. In the end, I managed to write serviceable articles, but I didn't enjoy the process. Plus, my confidence took a hit. I thought, ‘I must be a hack if my first drafts need that much work.’
Despite this, I kept doing it that way, just to get comfortable with the process. After all, you can’t build a new habit overnight. On average, it can take 66 days to establish new behaviour patterns, so it was too early to tell.
Interestingly, after writing about 16 articles this way, I discovered that it took roughly the same amount of time as my usual method, give or take 15–20 minutes (I tracked it with Clockify), so I wasn't actually gaining time, which had been my objective all along.
In the end, my experiment was a bust. But it confirmed that when I edit as I go, I edit heavily now and lightly later. However, when I write first, I edit/rewrite heavily later.
Interestingly, the quality of the piece and the time it took were roughly the same, with one major difference: when it came to reviewing the final piece, one was like a light spring clean and the other was like removing vomit from a shag rug!
In other words, it was not enjoyable. And if I didn’t enjoy it, why continue doing it?
So when it comes to editing advice, there's no one-size-fits-all. Just because it works for one person, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you.
Let's face it, even established writers have different opinions on the subject. John Steinbeck said that you should ‘Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down’. On the other hand, Roald Dahl preferred obsessive tinkering: ‘By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times.’
If you’re a new writer or a chronic procrastinator, the ‘write now and editor later’ approach can help you explore new ideas without judgment – or even ward off writer’s block.
It can also be useful for writers who are still finding their voice or struggling with perfectionism. It may also work for journalling, where writing freely can be therapeutic.
If you find errors distracting (like me!) or you’re a disciplined writer, you may prefer to edit as you go. Either way, test out both approaches and ask yourself:
Is it improving the quality of my work?
Is it speeding up my writing time?
Is it making the writing process more pleasurable?
For those who answer yes, that’s great. You’ve got a new productivity hack up your sleeve. If it's a no, then keep doing what you’re doing. You're on the right track.
Do you edit as you write? Why or why not? I'd love to hear from writers bucking the trend!
If you've gone as far as you can with self-editing and need professional guidance, check out my Services page for rates or request a sample edit to see if we're a good fit!
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