by Jess Howe

Created on: September 01, 2011   Last Updated: September 03, 2011

This article will show you what to do with your novel once you've won NaNoWriMo. I've won a few times, and it's worked out differently each time I must say. I've managed to reboot my writing after a dry spell, I've written bad works, I've written things that ended up being the ideas for better ones, and I've also come out with a novel that's an upcoming ebook. NaNo month in my house has always been hectic, it's true, but after the deed is done I feel very accomplished, and you will too.

First off, the advice I've always followed is to stick the finished product in a drawer (or somewhere on my computer), for at least a month. Go do something else in that time. Preferably, do something that's very different from what you were just writing non-stop for a whole thirty days. You want your head clear when you go back to your novel and look again. You don't want to be spending the next few months overedeting what you have, changing things that maybe don't need to be changed, putting in different grammar here and there, and so on. So leave it be for a bit!

Self Critique

When time has passed, go look at your completed product. Now's the time for a couple questions:

What kind of novel did you write? Two years ago when I did NaNo, for example, I took my idea book and wrote ten of the story ideas that were in there into a finished collection. The idea was simply to get myself writing, not that the stories went together at all (because they don't). Most of the time, though, I've written drafts of novels. So, what do you have here, now that it's all over? Do you have a novel, a collection, or something that's possibly the idea for something better?

Do you think this is a good product? Be honest with yourself; sometimes it's a worthwhile piece and sometimes not. For instance, you might look at it by this point and say well, it's maybe useful for an idea - take a look at what's in it and see if that's true. There are often gems within the mess.

If not, why? (There can be any number of reasons for this, ranging from "it's badly constructed," to "it's just like the thing I was reading last year.") You want to look at it before even thinking of editing because that way you get the raw bones of what you've just made. Also, if you've a good novel that you think is worth fooling with further, then you can move on from this point to the next step.

Critique by Someone Else

Give it to a friend to scrutinize. Make SURE at this point that you're giving your novel to someone who will

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