Some writers love the first draft. It’s where they get to play, be creative, be swept away by the story in their heads. Other writers like the editing process. They love the meticulous ordering of words, the smoothing out and cleaning up of paragraphs, the plotting and filling in of holes.

Of the two types, I am the former. When writing is going well for me, the first draft can feel like I am seeing a movie in my mind. I become immersed in the world I am making. This makes sense–I am visual. I think in a combination of pictures and words and I have very vivid dreams. So the first draft is my playground.

I don’t hate editing, but it is boring. Sometimes when I am checking every punctuation mark or analyzing every word, editing feels more like data entry than a part of writing. That doesn’t mean that I’m not good at it, but I don’t particularly enjoy it. I have never liked crossword puzzles or Scrabble or other games like that either. I have a feeling that writers who like those games also like editing.

I say this because this is a summer of editing for me. I have a novel to finish and at least 10 short stories to edit. I am also judging a book contest, which is a bit like editing too, since you have to use the same analytical skills. So far, I am finding all the editing a little soul crushing, but it has to be done.

It’s true that writing is editing. I spend much more time editing what I’ve written than actually writing it. So I am a bit envious of writers who actually like editing. They probably get more overall enjoyment from writing than I do, just because writing the first draft takes so much less time than editing it does.

Which part of the process do you prefer, the first draft or the editing? Or are you one of those lucky people who like both?