"Here's the secret to finishing that first book. Don't rewrite as you go"
About this Quote
Hamilton’s “secret” is a small act of rebellion against the romantic myth of the writer as a meticulous sculptor chiseling genius out of marble. “Don’t rewrite as you go” isn’t craft advice dressed up as a fortune cookie; it’s a survival tactic aimed at the most common way first books die: perfectionism disguised as diligence.
The intent is brutally practical. Finishing a draft requires forward momentum, and rewriting midstream is a stall that feels productive. You get the dopamine of improvement without taking the risk of discovering what the story actually is. Hamilton is drawing a line between drafting (making decisions, generating material, committing to a spine) and revising (refining choices once the full shape exists). The subtext: your early chapters can’t be “right” yet because you haven’t earned the information that comes from reaching the end. Until you know where the book lands, you’re polishing guesses.
Context matters: Hamilton built a long-running, highly commercial series career, a world where output and deadlines aren’t abstract concepts but existential. In that ecosystem, rewriting-as-you-go isn’t artistry; it’s sabotage. Her advice also smuggles in permission: you’re allowed to write badly on purpose. Not because mediocrity is the goal, but because messy pages are the only raw material revision can actually work with.
The line works because it reframes finishing as the real gatekeeping skill. Talent gets you sentences. Completion gets you a book.
The intent is brutally practical. Finishing a draft requires forward momentum, and rewriting midstream is a stall that feels productive. You get the dopamine of improvement without taking the risk of discovering what the story actually is. Hamilton is drawing a line between drafting (making decisions, generating material, committing to a spine) and revising (refining choices once the full shape exists). The subtext: your early chapters can’t be “right” yet because you haven’t earned the information that comes from reaching the end. Until you know where the book lands, you’re polishing guesses.
Context matters: Hamilton built a long-running, highly commercial series career, a world where output and deadlines aren’t abstract concepts but existential. In that ecosystem, rewriting-as-you-go isn’t artistry; it’s sabotage. Her advice also smuggles in permission: you’re allowed to write badly on purpose. Not because mediocrity is the goal, but because messy pages are the only raw material revision can actually work with.
The line works because it reframes finishing as the real gatekeeping skill. Talent gets you sentences. Completion gets you a book.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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