I know what you mean, I write a page and then I feel that I have to edit it before I write the next page.  It's a habit that I'm trying to break. 

It seems so easy, just write it and get it on paper.

Bob

In writing my first story (my still-in-progress fantasy novel), I've started to shape the landscape my characters inhabit, added minor characters, and gotten them into several different situations.  I can see how writing the first draft can help you find your story.

But then again, sometimes rewrites tell you more about your story than your first draft does. 

Funny thing ... I don't really relate to having a problem pushing out from shore, on the issue of starting a story. Where my flies in the ointment begin buzzing is after I've gotten -say... three chapters worked out. My imagination gets busy from one day to the next- on who these characters are and why they're here. What is it that makes them qualified to carry the story along? The story seems to go where I let it - no problem. At that point it's a matter of saying ... why is this direction going to be the most expedient given what I now know about them, to make this piece important. I end up writing the revision of yesterdays version or last weeks version. 'Hard for me to imagine writing a definitive draft when the version of the story keeps changing according to the level of interest or understanding what's  important, changes from week to week.When all this is happening I end up writing modules I think I'll fit in later on. My muse isn't giving all I need to get a clear picture.      Ya know what I mean?

My question then is; Is a good writer hard wired to the "rule" of - No revision till the vision is complete?

I most definitely know what you mean, Neville, in answer to the yes/no portion of your post.  I think that, if at all possible, a writer should keep rigid scheduled times each day to meditate until the distractions of reality fall away (this can take a while, but it's worth it).  Then, come back to the insights you have gained through meditating when you sit down with your notebook or your computer, jot down the important stuff (maybe on some scratch paper), and work on incorporating it into your story.  It also really pays to have fun with your story once you've reached this point, because writer's block can come up pretty damn fast and then it's pretty hard to know what to do.  For me, keeping your mind open to possibilities but sticking to the structure of your story (and having fun) are the key elements.

--Nick Kessler

There is a fantastic event every year held in November to help you overcome this problem. The name of the event is called NaNoWriMo, or National November Writers Month. The goal is to write an entire novel in 30 days. Basically, 50,000 words in one month. This averages out to 1337 words per day.

Doesn't sound hard, does it? Well... unless you have a story idea written out page by page and line by line, I can garauntee that you will come to a point when you have no idea how to go on or what in the world you were trying to accomplish in the first place. Also, you will want to reread and edit and proofread and all that nasty stuff that is supposed to happen -after- you finish your first draft. With this kind of timeline, there is no spare time to try to go back and fix it. Fix it when you are done or you'll never get to that point.

Nano is a great excercise in making yourself just write. Just get those words down. Start at the begining and drag yourself to the end. Of course hardly anything that comes out of Nano is hardly publisher material, but you will have your first draft. That's the point, right? Or maybe, that thing that you thought was the most wonderful and unique idea for a book really isn't something you can expect another human being to read.

If it sounds like something you want to try, check them out at nanowrimo.org. It is a very neat way to force yourself to follow strict word counts and see what you can actually accomplish in just 30 days.