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I hit 50,000 words of my manuscript on November 25th, 2018.

I finished my novel, with 56,847 words written during NaNoWriMo, and 93,086 words total, on November 29th, 2018.

I kept putting off writing the last scene. I would purposefully extend scenes, or conveniently stop writing just before I would need to work on that dreaded scene.

Finishing a book is bittersweet. I want to celebrate all of the work I’ve put in, but at the same time, I’m so sad that this drafting journey is over. I’ve loved creating this world and these characters, and I’m not ready to say goodbye.

I know it technically isn’t goodbye. This book needs a lot of revisions. But it’s goodbye for now, while I prepare to edit. And it’s goodbye to pulling story threads from the air and weaving them together. All that’s left to do is attack them with scissors and tape.

When you finish your first draft, there is still a lot of work to do. For me, it’s the hardest work. Revising.

I have absolutely no self esteem, and looking back at my writing only creates more doubts and insecurities. That said, I’ve made a schedule to revise my novel.

Everyone says you need to take a break between drafts. I’m really bad at this. If I take a break, I’ll never go back to it. Because of that, I’ve had to create my schedule in a way that will work with me.

My Plan:

Nov. 30th – Finish My First Draft (Check!)
Dec. 14 – Dec. 28– First Reading (During this time, I will be doing simple line edits and a read through to check the flow. Any major issues I notice will be noted for later)
Dec. 28 – Jan. 11 – Send It Out (I have a couple of critique partners lined up who want to take a look at my rough rough draft.)
Jan. 11 – ??? – Major Overhaul. (Take a look at all of the critiques and implement the changes necessary).

That’s all I have currently planned, but I know that I’ll need to repeat this process a couple of times before I have a product I’m proud of.

Books are a lot of work, but it’s worth it to see what they turn into.

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Did you win NaNoWriMo this year? Are you planning on revising your manuscript?

Also, should I continue to make posts about my revision process and how it’s going?

Check out my latest NaNoWriMo post here:
Pushing Through and Finishing Your Draft – NaNoWriMo 2018, Week 3