At least, it’s the bane of my existence, along with chocolate donuts, sports injuries and a Best Friend who is more than willing to fill the role of worst enemy. The problem with editing is not so much being forced to change what I’ve written as it is a blunt reinforcement of something I’ve secretly known for years.

I’m a terrible writer.

Some of the stuff I’ve churned out in my first draft is beyond cringe-inducing.  Eye watering spelling mistakes abound, lodged in prose so bad it will herald the end of creation if said backwards. So, no matter how bad you think your writing is, console yourself with the fact that it probably won’t bring about Armageddon.

This is where editing comes in. I may be a terrible writer, but I’m getting better as a re-writer*. Editing is painful, but when you read over what you have already written, the shape of what should be there is easier to see. Grammar mistakes stick out, prose changes itself in your head and the feeling of your story will make itself known. Some writers are able to edit as they go but I’m not one of them. To properly edit my work I need some time to pass between writing it and then attempting to look at it again. Again, this isn’t true of everyone, however for most of us, giving your work some breathing space will allow you to look at it with fresh eyes.

Or bloodshot, sleep deprived eyes if you’re like me.

There is a second lesson to editing, on top of ‘You Should Be Doing It’. This was a far harder one for me to learn; ‘Don’t Edit A Living Work’. This means that no matter how tempting it might be to redo chapter one, resist the urge. I have three unfinished manuscripts that have fallen victim to re-write disease and  they now sit inside my laptop, alone and unloved. No matter what, you must finish your first draft because you can’t edit a potential novel**.

Finish your draft, then leave it alone for a week, then edit it. Your work will be better, book agents won’t instantly reject your book when they see it*** and the universe gets to keep existing for another day.

To steal (and change) Mur Lafferty’s line: “You should be editing.”

* I actually got this idea from a quote from  Michael Crichton: “Books aren’t written, they’re rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn’t quite done it…”

** Unless you’re Terry Pratchett

*** Actually they might still reject it, but at least it won’t because you misspelled something in the first line.