When doing the usual reviews, do you approach it writing it day by day (for example, start with the rough draft, then edit it tomorrow, add more notes, and so on) or do you simply focus on trying to finish the whole piece from beginning to end in one day.
Reviews tend to be much smaller pieces -- at least for the outlets I typically write for -- and almost always have relatively tight deadlines. Depending on the size of the review and complexity of the review and assignment, I may try to write, revise, and complete the article in one extended setting. There have certainly been times where I've finished a game the night before, then given myself ~3 hours before an 11am deadline to write and complete the review and been completely happy with the results.
Recently, though, I've become a much bigger fan of knocking out a quick draft, walking away from it, and then getting deep into revisions later that day or the next morning, the latter of which is usually just hours before my deadline. That approach lets me throw down my ideas without worrying too much about style and word count (though I still edit as I go, always have), think on it for several hours or the night, and then tear into it with fresh eyes and potentially after a good night's rest.
Whatever approach I have time for, I always spend as much time revising and editing as I do writing. Getting the core ideas down as text is obviously important, but making them cogent and as polished and dead-on as possible is the more significant part of the process, in my eyes. When I first started writing game reviews (typically much longer ones), I'd usually write my review and then barely look over it, assuming whatever I wrote was great and fine. But that doesn't fly in the world of professional writing.
Or rather, it shouldn't -- but you don't have to look far to find examples of reviews and other articles on well-known websites that read like haphazard blog posts. I don't have any issues with editors tweaking my writing and making suggestions -- often, they're beneficial and improve the piece -- but I'm always happy to see my text printed or posted nearly identical to how I submitted it. That tells me not only that I turned in polished, quality text, but that it read well in its original incarnation. All of which reassures me that it's worth that extra time and effort to get it right.
