It's over. No begging for one more day.
NaNoWriMo 2015 is history.
Didn't finish your manuscript?
Didn't make the 50,000 word count?
Vowing to never do NaNoWriMo again because you feel like a failure?
But... what about all your accomplishments?
Yes, you've achieved something.
You made a commitment to write.
You wrote words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters.
You created characters and scenes.
You looked at your work with a critical eye as you wrote and mentally made notes what needed to be revised, re-written, or removed.
You talked with others, exchanging information or tips or encouragement.
You were part of a large community which stretched beyond your writing space- across your town, state, nation, continent.
You're burning to finish your book.
That's quite a list of accomplishments. Stand up straight and proud, and let your voice be strong when you talk about all of these.
Now it's time to Begin. Whether you've finished your book or still have to wrap it up, you need one more thing:
Revisions.
You, me, Stephen King, James Patterson, JK Rowling- we all need to smooth and polish and sharpen our work. No one gets away from doing it.
So in February (yes, I know it's a short month) we're all going to do #NaNoRevMo (National Novel Writing Revision Month). I have manuscripts to revise, and by February all the holidays are behind us. You have all of January to finish your work. Since you've whittled down the 50,000 by whatever word count you have, you can finish it without the frantic pressure. But use the routine you had (or maybe should have had...) during #NaNoWriMo should help to keep you going until you type The End.
While you're finishing up or taking a break, I will post revision tips from authors, editors, agents. Some posts may be a repeat of what you've seen. Don't even look at them until your novel is finished. Then, we'll all starting revising on February 1st. It should take you less time to do this initial revision than it took to write your novel. Hopefully you won't have to scrap and rewrite large chunks, but if you do, that's okay! There are no prizes for finishing by February 28th so don't fret. The goal is to revise- not to make yourself so frustrated that you quit.
Let's do this.
And when we're done, we'll chat about our experiences and share our accomplishments.
Till then,
Char
