Writer’s Guide
Write Now—Edit Later

For writers, procrastination does not become us. Too many other distractions and events in life crop up to keep us from writing on a regular basis to let procrastination or writer’s block add to the mutiny of spirit. So don’t let the trap of over-editing during writing squash your muse.

Some writers agonize over trivial technical matters while writing a scene when they should just crash through and get the scene down on paper. Let the characters say what they want to say. Let them throw a dagger across the room or throw their lover to the floor and…well…there you go. Let the scene go where it needs to go, and then go back to edit for style or grammar or punctuation worries. If you force your characters to stand there half-undressed waiting for you to consult your little gray copy of Strunk and White in the middle of their grand scene, they’re going to lose their momentum.

And so are you. And your reader will feel that. It’s no easy task to edit the passion back in after the writer committed coitus interruptus.

Momentum pertains to more than just one individual scene. It applies to your whole writing process. If you have trouble getting started with writing, perhaps you’re spending too much time fretting over mechanics and not enough time just enjoying the art of crafting and telling a story. Let the characters and plot move and flow…and go back to edit later.

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

Tags: writer's block, writing, grammar, style, Strunk and White