National Novel Writing Month Draws to a Close

As I’m sure some of you with access to social media have noticed, November is National Novel Writing Month. Its abbreviated form of NaNoWriMo might not be as snappy as Movember, but it still convinced over 300,000 participants to stick it out to the bitter end in 2013, which is an impressive number when you consider how difficult it is to actually write a novel.

But what’s next? Transmitting your novel from an idea in your head to a realised draft on the paper is the first and arguably the most difficult obstacle in your journey to becoming a novelist. Once that is overcome, you are, by definition, a novelist. However, the journey is not yet complete.

Now begins the editing process. Take a few days to cool down after completing your draft; enjoy a few festive glasses of port and open six or seven of the doors on your advent calendar, and then return to the project with fresh eyes.

The time has come to begin grappling with your Melville-esque white whale. Print the monster out – looking at your work on paper rather than on the same screen you’ve been punching characters into the for the last four weeks will enable you to think about it in a different light – and go at it with a red pen. This will also allow you to be ruthless without irrevocably deleting vast swathes of your beloved text.

All this might seem like a gargantuan task, but remember, the worst is over. You did what maybe you never thought you could do; you wrote a novel. That’s got to feel good, right? Let it sink in.

How did you get on in NaNoWriMo? Drop us a comment and let us know.

Click here for more information on National Novel Writing Month.