Is this method of writing a book wrong or bad?

I’m pretty sure no one can say the “Right” or “Wrong” ways to write, much as no one can say the right and wrong way to draw or paint or sculpt or any other form of art. Do what feels the best to you. Writing a full draft will probably help you stay focused, but at the same time would you want to squash a sudden idea to improve a previous section? I say just start, and see how it goes. I’m also not really a writer, though, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Not at all. The point of your first draft is get the story out, in rough but full form. You can’t edit what you don’t have written down. Actually, getting the whole kit and caboodle out there on paper can help you in editing. You can then edit from the perspective of the whole book, and change what is best for the effect of the overall story (not just one section….).

Whatever you do, don’t let yourself be satisfied with just cranking out the draft. I can’t even begin to count the number of stories that I’ve killed that way.

A good method is one that works. Plagiarism aside, I don’t think there is such a thing as a bad method if the result is a completed draft. Experienced writers urge you to keep going and don’t get hung up on rewriting your first hundred pages. In fact, this is exactly what NaNoWriMo is about: turn off your inner editor, keep writing, and don’t look back until you’re through. Go for it.

A draft gives you the opportunity to foolish yet creative. This helps you to maintain your flow and write smoothly. That being said, you should edit your draft mercilessly. So, write with your critic off and your creative side on.

Editing should take care of the grammar and revision. When you do the editing, its again your choice.

Sounds like a good strategy to me. That’s how I did mine, but one chapter at a time. I wrote our an outline for the whole thing, then dashed out a chapter and edited it like crazy beofre going to the next. Yet the editor still found plenty of work.

If a method works for you, go for it.

Well, it doesn’t work for me. I prefer to edit & rewrite as I go along…. However, each to their own. There is no right way to be creative.

There’s a fabulous set of books called Writers at Work comprising interviews George Plimpton conducted with the world’s greatest writers many years for The Paris Review. I read them many years ago and still consider them a bible for aspiring writers.

One thing you come away with after reading even a few of the interviews is that every writer plies his craft in a different way, and that there’s no one right way. I urge you to buy one of these books (half.com will probably have them cheap). It will totally relieve your mind on this excellent question.

@Austinlad, fix link?