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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3515
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I've been thinking about this site lately, and I think this question is one of the ones that illustrates why the site isn't totally satisfying to me. Because the answer to this question, as to so many other questions, is:

It depends. What works for you?

I really don't think that writing, at least fiction writing, is a science. It's a craft for some, an art for others, but it doesn't have the firm, straightforward rules that would make it a science.

If you find that you do well if you edit as you go, edit as you go. If you find you have better results by spitting everything out in the manner it occurs to you and then refining later, do that. There are just too many variables to be able to have firm right/wrong answer (a weakness, obviously, for a 'stack' type website).

But, trying to be concrete: How about a compromise? I read and revise the previous day's work before I start on the current day's writing. It allows me to get back into the style of the project and be clear of where I am, and I catch lots of little problems. Then when I'm done, I go back over the whole project and make changes as needed. It works for me. Does it work for you?

Original score: 7