You've Finished NaNoWriMo: Now What?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This week's Refresher Friday is for all those writers who just wrote their hearts out in November and aren't sure what to do next.

A big congratulations to all the NaNo'ers out there who made it through the month. No matter how many words you wrote, rejoice that you dedicated time to writing.

Now that it's over, here are some suggestions on what to do next:

1. Set the manuscript aside for at least two weeks. Maybe even a month.

A little distance will give your perspective and allow you to approach revisions with fresh eyes. You'll see what's on the page, not what you intended to write. This is especially true for a fast-drafted novel, since everything is still fresh in your mind. Or a complete blur since you wrote it so quickly.

(Here's more on first looks at a first draft)

2. Plan your revisions.

When I start a revision I create an outline/summary of what happens in the novel. Call it a scene synopsis or an editorial or book map. I go scene by scene and summarize what happens from a plot standpoint. This helps me remember what I wrote, and see where the weak areas are. I can quickly pinpoint where a scene is lacking a goal or stakes, or scenes that aren't serving the story. It's also a useful reference guide for later revisions.

For every scene, ask:

• What is the point-of-view-character trying to do? (the scene goal)
• What goes wrong? (the scene conflict)
• What does the POV-character do about it? (the scene drive)
• Why does this matter? (the scene stakes)

These questions capture the basic goal-journey-disaster structure of a scene. If you're missing any of these pieces, there's a good chance the scene isn't helping to move the story forward. If you find yourself summarizing everything but these pieces, that's a red flag that the scene doesn't have a goal, conflict, or stakes.

Add your own questions for your your story or genre-specific needs. For example, in my detective story, I also kept track of what clues were found and what theories my detective had based on what he knew thus far.

(Here's more on creating an editorial map)

3. Finish the manuscript (if needed).

Since NaNo is geared toward 50K words, odds are you don't yet have a full novel (unless you're writing for middle grade or young adult audiences, you did really well and blew past 50K words, or you used NaNo to finish a novel in progress). With your handy new editorial map, you can see what still needs to be done or where you can flesh out the story.

• Are there subplots you can add to the mix?
• Are there any character arcs that can be woven through to add to the theme?
• Are there places where you can deepen the theme or characters?
• Can you develop your world building more?

Overlaying your editorial map to your favorite story structure template can also help spot sparse areas that need more. For example, if your Act Two isn't half the novel, then you know you can add more in the middle without hurting the overall pacing of the novel. If Act One is taking over half the novel, that's a likely place to cut back (or a good indication the rest needs to be longer).

(Here's more on fleshing out a too-short novel)

4. Check for emotional clarity.

In the rush to get those 50K words down, there's a decent chance some things got simplified. If you were focused on the plot, then the emotional layers might be lacking, and vice versa. It might not be a bad idea to look through your editorial map and add in what the emotional arcs are.

• How does each character feel at the start of every scene?
• What emotions change in the scene?
• What do you want the reader to feel in every scene?

In the text itself, if you find a lot of pronoun-verb statements (like he frowned, or she smiled) those are common placeholder phrases that could be opportunities to develop the emotions more. And show more.

(Here's more on easy edits for better emotional descriptions)

5. Check for plot clarity.

On the flip side, if you were focused on the characters and their emotional journey, you might be light on plot. Things are happening, but there's no sense of story drive or stakes, it's just a string of scenes that's aren't moving the story along. Take some time to make sure every scene in your synopsis is pulling its weight.

• Is each scene ending with a decision that leads to the next scene?
• Is there enough conflict in every scene?
• Are there goals and choices in every scene?

If each scene isn't creating a reason for the next scene to happen, you probably want to take another look at your goals, conflicts, and stakes.

(Here's more on plotting)

6. Take a quick look at the entire story.

Once you've identified where the weak areas are and created a plan to fix them, take a step or two back and re-look at the entire novel. A quick scan through the pages works well here, as you can see where there are dark, heavy text areas vs. light, dialogue heavy areas. Big boxes of text can indicate there's not enough dialogue or you're telling too much. White, open pages can indicate there's too much dialogue and not enough narrative. A neat trick for this is to zoom out on your pages so all you see are the lines, not the actual text.

• Are all the pieces working together to tell the best tale?
• Is there a good mix of description and dialogue? Exposition and internalization?
• Do you have all the right pieces in the right places?

(Here's more on plotting with layers)

Finishing a NaNo novel is something to be proud of, but don't rush to get that novel sent out to agents editors, or publishers. Treat it just like any other novel and put in the work to polish it and make it something worthy of all that effort.

Did you do NaNo? How did it go?

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Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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