Writing and editing involve different cognitive processes that use different parts of the brain. When you write, you typically use your creative and imaginative processes, which are associated with the right side of the brain. This involves generating new ideas, making connections between concepts, and visualizing scenes and characters.
On the other hand, editing involves a more analytical and critical thinking process, which is associated with the left side of the brain. This involves evaluating the structure, pacing, and clarity of your writing, checking for errors in grammar and punctuation, and refining your prose to make it more effective and engaging. Editing your work during the drafting stage of the novel writing process can be counterproductive for a few reasons:
Continue reading “Novel drafting rule #4: No editing allowed”
The past few weeks, I’ve been working on my second “real” novel, and it hit me this morning that I’ve finally figured out how to organize my work in the first draft stage so I can keep track of what I’m doing. Because organization can be a key element of being an efficient writer, I thought I’d share my system in case some other writer might find it useful. I think the easiest way to explain my system is to paint a picture of it for you, so I took a screenshot of the first page of my actual document:
Write on the World 