I’ve started this post numerous times in my head. I have so much to say! It’s all still tumbling around excitedly inside my brain. This might call for a list!
- I won NaNoWriMo with 52,513 (52,527 in Google Docs) words.
- I finished the story! This one is huge. Immensely, amazingly huge! I have never done this before. Not just during NaNo, either. I have only ever finished short stories before. Every long work I’ve started up until now remains unfinished. But not this one. This one has an ending!
- I’m feeling niggling worries about whether or not I know how to do the next steps to add scenes, clean things up, do revisions. It’s all going to be my first try for my own work. I’ve helped other people do theirs, but I’ve never done this on my own. It feels completely different and like brand new territory. I have to remember that finishing a novel felt that way, and I did it by just figuring out and doing the next thing without knowing what I would do after that. I have to let go of wanting to know how every part of it will look before I get there (oh so hard for me!).
- I have a plan for what I’m doing next. During December I’m going to be reading through about 4 pages a day and making notes about things that need to have more info or different info, marking places where I need another scene, marking places where a scene needs to be removed or replaced. My plan is to be ready to do the writing and clean-up starting in January. I’m trying not to try to figure out how long that might take right now (oh my control issues!).
Yay for finishing NaNo and the story! That is great. Good luck on your next steps with the project.
Congrats on finishing both NaNo and the story. Your December approach sounds good, just to back away a bit and look at the story from a higher level, at overall structured details. Good luck on editing.
I love the excitement of your post! And HOOORAY for the finished novel draft, and the NaNo win! =D
I’ve had similar issues with revisions. Finally bought Holly Lisle’s one-pass revision course, How to Revise Your Novel. It’s involved, and I’m not making swift headway, but I’m learning so much!
May you find a path that works for you. Four pages a day sounds manageable.
*tosses confetti* Isn’t being able to write “The End” just the coolest thing?
Of course, as you’ve already noticed, it’s really just a new beginning. That’s pretty cool too. Sometimes it’s even more exciting than initial journey, because you know where you most want to spend some time and where you had some issues during your last visit.
Best to you in this new exciting journey.
Eden, oh my gosh yes! I am still thrilled and a little disbelieving. I thought I’d never be here, starting the next stage. Woo hoo! Thanks for the good wishes.