Question first, edit later

Editing is important. It takes a lot of work and attention to do.

Before you dive into that hard work, however, ask yourself one important question: Is this scene required?

For every single scene in your writing, ask yourself if it is moving the story forward. If it brings something new. If it is respecting the pace of your story.

If a scene is not meeting all three of these criteria, then you probably don't need the scene. Delete the scene or save it for another story before taking the time to edit something that is not even required.