I know there is the age old debate of plotting vs. pantsing, but I think there is another issue that goes hand in hand with that one. Most of the advice you hear about that first draft is to just write and stuff a sock in the mouth of that internal editor so the creative muse can sing. This method can work for plotters and pantsers alike. Get the words on the page and worry about them later, right? Hell, otherwise NaNo would be a true impossibility.
However, as I write my first draft of this new novel, I'm starting to realize that I'm not so good at full out freewheeling like I was in my first two novels. I can freely write whatever scene I'm working on that day without worrying about every little thing. But, I have a hard time the next day not going back over what I wrote the previous day and doing some tweaking and editing or all out cutting. I also need time after I finish writing a scene to think through what I wrote and how I want to proceed in the next scene. Because although I do some rough outlining before starting, I only know the major strokes of the story, so I'm not always sure what I want to happen next.
Therefore, it seems that with this book thus far I'm more of a rewinder than a freewheeler. I'm not sure what the cause of this is. Am I not as confident in my story? Have I been studying craft so much that I'm second guessing myself? Or is just that each book has it's own personality and the its own way of wanting to be written? I honestly don't know.
What do you think? Has this ever happened to you? Are you able to freewheel or are you more of a rewinder?
