You sound like you try to make the first draft as "perfect" as possible. Whereas, I have been in the habit of changing just about every word on the second "drafts" so I am not too fussed about getting the language anywhere near "perfect" the first time round. I just want to get to the end and make sure the plot works when I am writing the first draft.

I never go back at all until its completely finished. If I did, i would see its flaws, get pathetically insecure and not finish it.

Then I start at the beginning and go to the end, and just keep doing that, until I'm happy, no matter how many times it takes, which depends on that all important first draft.

I tended to do all my revising and editing at the same time and call it rewriting. But what is the point of revising or editing something that in reality would not survive a redrafting? So I will try to do them separately when I return to revising my previous manuscript.

I nearly always know where my stories are going – I am big on plotting a novel before writing it. The novel I am currently working on always had the same start, middle , end, character arc of the main character and major theme. Nut a few secondary characters have done some very unexpected things, helping to make the novel a lot longer than I expected.

Thanks for the comment.

Wow, youre book really is bigger than the bible – lol – the new Peter F. Hamilton?
Almost three in one!

Redrafting, revising, its all editing to me. People like to create rules etc and its nice to have a work program that works for you. That's the trick I think – finding what works for you.

One bit of advice that's really handy during editing, that I always remember is, if the words don't add to a sentence, then remove it. Writing is removing. Can't remember who said it, but I like it.

Thanks for a very interesting post.