I edit as I go, re-reading and fixing right the from the beginning several times before the first draft is complete. So, when I finish it, it's in pretty good shape. I need only a couple of read-throughs to polish it up and make it ready for beta readers.
I cringe a bit when I think back to my first draft. Yes, it got the basic plot out there, giving me a template to work with. Even so, it left me with a lot of editing/revision.
Next time I'm going to try the outline method and see it helps me end up with a cleaner first draft.
Lucky you guys!<< I find the editing process exhilarating and inspiring, so first drafts, to me, are a real source of fun.>>
Me, too
I used to think I was "doing it wrong" since most people edit the same story multiple times before they consider it passable, even in the short story market, but I continue to sell things to established and respectable markets, so now I think I'm just fortunate to be able to write very cleanly.
I worried I was doing something wrong after this last first draft and I didn't have a mess on my hands. Then when I told a writer friend I had finished, she goes, "Great! Only 25 edits to go and you're done!" And she wasn't kidding. I was thinking, 25? I don't think I have 5. Then I started to worry I was editing wrong. Lol!
Whoever told me to cut back on adjectives and descriptions should be shot.
Telling someone to 'cut back on' adjectives means they're always the special one who thinks they can get away with it, because the adjectives they use are essential.
If you tell someone to never use them, they'll cut their use right back and the only adjectives they use really will be of the special dispensation sort.
Adjectives are way-overused, so the council against them is way-overstrong, to even things out.