Why Writers Should Let Their Manuscripts Cool

Photo credit: alex: on Flickr

So a long while ago I wrote this post on the cooling off period between writing the first draft (or any draft, for that matter) and editing, and while I got my point across, I must have consumed about fifty buckets of sugar before writing it or something, because it was just a little hyper and ADDish.

Partially because of that and partially because I’d like to write a more coherent post on the topic, I’ve decided to write about the cooling off period again because yes, it’s that important. (If you really want to read the original, I suppose you could go here. But you don’t have to. In fact, it’d probably be best if you didn’t.)

Anyway. As many writers know (and some would rather pretend they didn’t know), the cooling off period is more important than it sounds—it’s the time that allows us to take a couple steps back away from our freshly drafted WIPs, so that we can then in turn edit more objectively. It’s the pause between writing and editing—the breather, so to speak, and without it, it is very difficult to edit effectively.

Here’s why: completing a draft of a manuscript is a big accomplishment and it makes us writers feel many different emotions—everything from pride to manic excitement to sometimes a little fear and nervousness—but usually just a lot of excitement and pride. After you complete a draft, your mind is reeling with the world you’ve immersed yourself in while writing—the characters, the setting, the battles and victories and losses—all of those things are fresh in your mind, still sparkling with that wow, I really wrote this shine.

While you’re editing, however, that shine needs to go away. I’m not saying you can’t be proud of your work—but if you really want to edit, if you really want to make your work the best it can be, it requires a lot of legwork on your part and it often requires sacrifices. You have to be able to look at your words and pull out the weaknesses. You must be able to recognize the plot holes and flat characters and inconsistencies and scenes (or entire sections) that need rewriting entirely, and quite frankly, it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to do all of those things when you finished writing the draft yesterday.

You need time to let your manuscript cool—to create some distance between the story you know so well and your excited feelings. Without it, editing is going to be that much more difficult and not nearly as effective as it would have been had you given it time.

I recommend waiting at least a month, but the longer you can stand to stay away, the more distance you’ll create, and the easier it will be to edit objectively—which is, ultimately, the goal.

Do you take a cooling off period between writing and editing? If so, how long? If not, why not?

Cooling Off

Finishing the first draft of a WIP is exciting. It’s that time when you jump around the house screaming OMG GUYS OMG I JUST FINISHED MY NOVEL LET’S HAVE CUPCAKES and then you have a baking extravaganza with lots of confetti and chocolate icing.

What? Don’t look at me that way. You know that’s totally your fantasy, too.

Anyway. If you announce the completion of your first draft on Twitter and I see it, I’ll throw virtual confetti at you because that’s just what I do. Wait. That’s not the point I was trying to make. Where was I?

Oh yeah. Upon completing the first draft, writers tend to have a lot of energy. We’re (usually) amenable to a day off, but our minds are already thinking about the editing and what it’ll be like to have it TOTALLY DONE FOR REALS. Oh, the excitement, the terror, the EXCITEMENT!

So it’s not surprising that I see this on Twitter all the time: I JUST FINISHED MY WIP CAN’T WAIT TO EDIT TOMORROW.

To which I slam my head against the keyboard and scream something incoherent reminiscent of a dying cat and a giggling goblin.

It’s tempting to begin editing your newly finished WIP immediately. I know. Even waiting a week is hard because you want more than anything to dive back into it and make it shine. But if you really want to get the most out of editing, if you really want to be able to see the flaws so you can stomp them out early, then guys you need a cooling off period.

This is not optional. In order to really edit your work you need to distance yourself, and that’s pretty difficult to do when you finished your WIP yesterday.

I wait a minimum of a month. During that month I distract myself with other things. This too, is important. If you spend your cooling off period thinking about your WIP, you haven’t done anything but waste your time, because you haven’t distanced yourself at all.

But AVA, you say. What am I supposed to do for a WHOLE MONTH? Do not despair! Distraction month can be great:

• Read a book. Or two. Or four. 
• Write a book. That’s right, start a new COMPLETELY UNRELATED story. No sequels. NO SEQUELS. Sequels make you think of the WIP you’re trying not to think about and that’ll just give you a headache. 
• Watch movies. Lots of them. Like, ridiculous amounts. I don’t know about you, but movies give me awesome ideas. Plus they’re just pretty sweet in general. 
• Go outside. Let’s face it, you’ve been writing probably a while now. When’s the last time you just chilled outside without thinking about your WIP? That’s right. Now get some sun on that pasty skin.
• Spend a day with friends and family. They missed you. Just don’t talk about your WIP. That’s against the rules.
• Travel. If you can, anyway. But if you get the opportunity, go for it. At the very least, you’ll make your Twitter friends jealous and you might get some inspiration for a new idea. 
• Dance! DANCE MY PRETTIES, DANCE! Err…I mean…dancing is good for you…or…something. IT’S FUN! 

You get the idea. The possibilities are endless; just do something that’ll take your mind off your WIP.

THEN, in a MONTH, guess what? Vacation’s over. Now get back to work.

What do you do during YOUR cooling off period?