How to Write Well. Step 3: Don’t edit while you write

You may have heard this wonderful quote from Ernest Hemingway: “Write drunk, edit sober.”

Turns out Ernest Hemingway didn’t actually say that. Also, I’d never advocate alcoholism. But at its heart, that quote has some great advice: Don’t stress the first draft.

It’s important not to edit while you write. It's important to write without the encumbrance of over-stressing during your first draft. I’ve coined another quote that perfectly encapsulates my writing philosophy: “If I have to think about it, it’s not worth writing.”

Sure, that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. Don’t overthink. Don’t draw complex outlines. Don’t nitpick every sentence as soon as you’re done writing it. Just sit and write. It’s that simple. 

How many of you have started a writing project and then given it up halfway through because “you just can’t get it right”? How many of you have gotten frustrated in the middle of a project because it’s not coming out perfectly?  

Any time I worry about perfection while I’m writing my first draft, I get discouraged. I get discouraged that I’m not writing well enough, and I get discouraged that my writing is taking so long.

But that’s not the point of a first draft. The first draft is a chance to get all of your ideas down on paper. Tell a story to yourself, then worry about telling it to others.

Michelangelo didn’t instantly turn a block of stone into a sculpture. He didn’t get so frustrated with David’s left eye that he didn’t finish the whole statue.

Get your ideas down without worrying about the end result. Then go back and look at what you have with fresh eyes. Don’t allow yourself to worry about the final product until you edit. And don’t stop writing to edit until you’re done. That’s how you get frustrated.

I learned this lesson thanks to the National Novel Writing Month. If you’re not familiar, “NaNoWriMo” is a challenge to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November. A deadline like that forces you to write without stopping to edit, to not worry about what you’re writing. I learned not to worry during the first draft. It was an incredibly freeing experience, and it continues to be a freeing lesson.

When my wife asks how the writing is going, I like to say that “I’m just vomiting words on a page. I’ll edit them later.” It’s gross, but it points to an important lesson: Don’t edit while you write. 

Write freely.