I asked my friend, and fellow Montana author to write a column about the value of editing when you self-publish. by Carol Buchanan Self-published author: God’s Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes of Montana (2009 Spur award for Best first Novel) Gold Under Ice (Sequel to God’s Thunderbolt) Most writing coaches advise not to self-edit as you write because it stifles creativity. I don’t know what sort of editing they mean, because my reaction to that is “bunk.” I've just gone through NaNoWriMo, and I’m finding it very uncomfortable because I want to stop and answer the little voice in my head that asks if this character would really say that, or if these men would sit down in the middle of the morning and tell stories about another man. Surely there’s a better way to convey his character to the reader than by these stilted conversations, I tell myself. I want to answer those questions as I write because that’s my usual method. (So I put in notes to myself to be answered in later.) ...