Fix it in the edit

As I learn to write, I’m putting together a list of writing strategies for fiction. Given a particular problem, what strategy will improve my writing, and what kind of prompts can I use to practice that strategy?

Right now I’m working on the entry “fix it in the edit.”

THE STRATEGY: Train yourself to skip over sections you are having trouble writing. Use brackets or some other notation to flag that area and come back in the edit. Mark it, skip it, and fix it in the edit.

Even if I end up writing something, I want to make it a habit to mark these troublesome areas so I know to check on them later.

In some cases, I might be having structural issues. I need to do research. My plot is wonky. I can’t think of a good transition. I have to retcon some detail I wrote earlier that no longer works. Or, maybe I’m tempted to write a more fun scene that doesn’t come up until later.

In other cases, the issue is related more to my inability to generate a model the story in my head. I don’t know how to capture the character’s emotions. I can’t visualize some aspect of the story. I need to set the scene but can’t think of what the environment is like. I have complicated action that might require me to don my stunt coordinator hat. I’m not in the mood to write a love scene. Or maybe I’m are having trouble with the dialogue or a particular character’s voice.

I once heard an interview where an author said, even if you write “and then an angel saved them” this helps the writer move on with the writing of the first draft. And even though an angel would be ridiculous in a spy thriller, a helicopter might not be. Then all the writer needs to do is retcon a helicopter flying the distance earlier in the draft, and the story is saved.