It's the Last Day

...of the rest of your lives. Sorry, NaNoWriMo. It might feel like it's the end of the world, but it's not. Your time of insane writing is at an end but you don't have to just give up writing completely. You might have had fun this month or you might not have a completely finished novel. I'm guilty of both but I am working on getting that novel finished.

You might be wondering what you could do next. If you have a completely finished novel, then you should possibly either put it down for a month or clean it up. There are pros and cons to each. Putting it down for a month gives you a chance to relax and breathe away from the story. However, then there's the possibility you might not pick it up until x amount of time later. Like a year from now. You could clean it up, while the plot is fresh in your mind, and make sure that everything is perfect. You could then find a writing group or a feedback group and see how others like your novel, if you're up for that kind of thing. The only con with that is that you might start feeling burned out.

You could also go for a mix of the two. You set a timer and you make sure you pick up your novel again when that time comes. I have a bit of that self discipline but I didn't when I first won NaNo. The first time I won, in 2008, I put my novel in a drawer, unfinished, until around... May. Oops. So, I don't recommend doing that if this is your first time winning. I do recommend continuing on, especially with writing every day if you've found what works for you. The only way that you are a writer and stay a writer is continuing to write. So there is that to think about.

For me, I'm going to get back to attempting to finish the novel by midnight. I doubt I'll get there, but then there's no rest for me until it's done. Until next time, keep on writing, validate your novel, and back up your work!