Young Writers Society

After you've written something, how long do you usually let it "sit" for before you look at it again to make edits?

I usually write something, and if it's not something that I immediately adored, take a couple days before looking at it or editing it. Then there's the case of posting the work if I end up posting it, and then I tend to give myself time to get upset about the reviews I'm given if they point out some very logical points (this only happens some of the time nowadays that I've gotten thicker skin with handling critique).

That's mainly when I give myself a couple of hours to regain mental strength and positivity before I go back to make those edits that are appropriately needed. The upset part isn't as much about the reviewer as it is that the great reviewers usually bring up some very valid points that tend to take a jab into me though overall help me a lot once I've gotten over the fact that there are some flaws of the work.

It depends on the stage of editing for me and how busy I am. If it's something I never really enjoyed in the first place though I think it has potential, it'll be a bit longer though. Hope this helps answer your question! It varies on how important the writing is to be, for a short answer.

For me at least a day, and that is with everything. Speeches, novels, short stories, anything that involves me writing. I feel like sleeping on it allows me to come back with a fresh pair of eyes. If I wait too long, like a couple weeks, I tend to forget or struggle to fully grasp the heart behind what I was trying to say.

But giving a nice break, also allows me to gather my mental focus, which might be drained emotionally after pouring out my heart on a piece of paper! Sometimes I am able to jump back in a few hours later, but I still always reread it after a day to make sure it still sounds as good as it did before

For novels I take months, usually at least six. I've found that only by taking some serious time away, I can come back with fresh eyes and make necessary changes. This also gives my readers plenty of time to read, digest, and make suggestions which is crucial for a good edit anyway. If I don't take substantial time away, I've found that I end up wasting my time with edits because I'm not making edits that really matter in the long run and the next draft will be too similar to the previous draft. I need time to think and consider and work on other things so the story doesn't get stale for me, and then when I'm ready to work on it again I'm excited and I have fresh ideas.

For example, for my novel baby Captive, I didn't take much time between drafts 1-3. Draft 2 was pretty much identical to draft 1, and draft 3 had more changes but was still very similar to draft 1. I liked draft 3, but something still felt off. There was at least a year between finishing the third draft and starting the fourth draft. By the time I started the fourth draft I was excited, I had a pretty good idea what the flaw was, and I was ready to start fresh. Now, I'm querying this novel to agents and I've gotten a few requests! This wouldn't have happened if I had rushed through my edits.

Yeah, with my novel Mixing Magic, I wrote the first draft, and then immediately went back and did a bit of a continuity/proofreading edit that involved re-writing a decent portion of the first third (though stuff still slipped through, believe me). This was mostly so it would be at least somewhat cohesive, enough to let people read anyway.

Now, a year later, I've gotten all the feedback, let it sit, written another novel in the meantime, and now I'm ready for Draft 2. So I definitely let my stuff sit for a while unless there's something I know I need to immediately fix.

With poetry, I tend to be constantly editing things as I go, and often I'll just post it right after finishing. I'll wind up editing a few days later after reviews come in.

Usually it's between 3 and 6 months for me, no matter what I'm working on.

My rule of thumb is to let it sit long enough for you to forget about it. Something that happens when you try to edit a work you still remember is you're actually reading from memory instead of reading the words on the page. That's why changing the format when you proofread is so important (and why you catch typos in emails after you've sent them).

Poetry I do leave just as long, simply because poetry is so personal to me that I need to get away from the situation before I can edit.

Once I've forgotten about it, then I go back and read it without the emotional wash of "this is so bad" and "in my head this scene reads like so."