If you are reading this, you have made it to December of 2021, and I am proud of you.
Even if you didn’t when the National Novel Writing Month challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel in 30 days—that means whether you have an incomplete story or a triple digit word count or are just now hearing about NaNoWriMo for the first time—you are a winner in my eyes.
Let’s say, for the sake of this blog post, you did participate in NaNoWriMo. I have five answers to your all-consuming question that haunts every writer after midnight on November 30: “What do I do with this thing now?”
Suggestion #1: Deconstruct Your NaNoWriMo Draft
If you’ve typed your story, push down the first page of your manuscript. If you’ve handwritten it, grab a spare sheet of paper and a paperclip (or washi tape this onto the inside of the cover, or use an extra large sticky note—whatever floats your boat).
While the story is still fresh in your mind, make a note of as many of the following as you can:
- The title or a descriptive nickname you’ve assigned the project
- The story’s genre, mood, themes, and/or vibes
- Books or movies that remind you of this story
- Tropes or key aspects within your story
- A few songs that are just so your main character
- A short or even one-line summary
- Whatever other traits you can think of that are distinctly this project
If you have the space, consider jotting down your thoughts about how the story could improve, what you need to tackle first while revising, or even what “you were going for”—a Hollywood blockbuster reproduced on paper, or a modern sorta-kinda-retelling of Pride and Prejudice, for example.
Why am I suggesting you do this? Because if and when you choose to go back to the story or stumble across the file many moons from now, this page will help you remember what your thoughts were and what you were going for with this story, no matter how much time has passed. Even when you revise with a minimal amount of time between drafting and editing, you may have days where you lose focus and the will to keep going with the revision process. This deconstruction of your novel can help you remember what made you excited enough to write it all down in the first place.
Suggestion #2: Finish Your NaNoWriMo Draft
November 30th has come and gone, but is your story finished? Those of you who did reach the end of your story—whether you fell short of, met, or exceeded the big word count goal—you can step away to get a refill on your beverage of choice here.
Everyone else: maybe you hit 50K words or maybe you didn’t, but if you didn’t get to type The End, this one’s for you.
Hey, you’ve gotten this far! Keep the momentum going if you have the energy and finish your draft if you have it in you right now. You will be glad you did.
Then, take a well-deserved rest. Revisions are a separate beast all their own, and it’s probably a good idea to take the time to recharge before tackling them.
Suggestion #3: Back Up Your NaNoWriMo Draft
Regardless of the condition your story is in, take the time right now to save your work. I have heard (and lived through!) too many horror stories to not insist you take this suggestion.
The following are just a few of the ways you can preserve your manuscript. If you are working with a non-traditional word processor (think Scrivener and similar rating apps), search for an option to download or export as either a .docx or a .rtf file— those file types are more upload- and printer-friendly. I’d recommend selecting at least two of the methods below, but preferably more. You can’t be too careful, right?
- Upload your document to the cloud (Google Drive, OneDrive, EverNote, etc.)
- Email the document to yourself and/or a trusted friend or family member
- Print out a hard copy of the draft, insert it into a folder or binder, and store it where you know you’ll find it later—a bookshelf or your nightstand drawer, maybe
- Put your draft on a USB flash drive on a (VERY sturdy) keychain, so you’ll always have it with you
- Other methods of physical back-up include external hard drives and SD cards
- Save a copy of it to your phone
- You can do this by saving it to your files folder or by copy-and-pasting the whole draft into a notes or writing app
“But wait, Megan! What if I wrote my story by hand?”
You’re not off the hook here! You might think your only option would be to type it all up right now, but that isn’t so. There are many, many smartphone apps out there that will allow you to scan your story and turn it into a PDF you can save using the methods above. Some of those apps are smart enough to read your handwriting and convert it to text! If you don’t have a smartphone, head to your local library and ask about scanning.
Suggestion #4: Send Off Your NaNoWriMo Draft
Unless you were a true #NaNoRebel and used this November to edit and revise, your story might not be ready for sending to agents or editors. But you know who it might be ready for?
A really great group of critique partners.
December, of course, is chock-full of family time and holidays, so consider scheduling the email to send during the first week of the new year. Trading manuscripts or services with other authors ensures that everyone gets something out of it. If you’ve never worked with a potential critique partner before, consider giving each other the first few chapters of your stories to find out whether you’ll be a good fit.
Author Kerry Evelyn has an excellent blog post on her magic formula for critique groups. If you’re still seeking out author friends, I highly recommend joining Writer’s Atelier’s Mighty Network and asking if anyone in the WA community is interested in swapping stories.
Suggestion #5: Chop Up Your NaNoWriMo Draft
There is always a chance that you will, at some point, fall out of love with your work. It’s certainly happened to me before, and I imagine it happens to every writer. Maybe the magic faded for your two weeks into November, or maybe you’ll look at your work again in February and find that you have grown so much since then, you can’t look at your story the same way.
So what’s the solution?
Well, after following Suggestion #3 (just in case!), comb through your draft. Chances are, even if what you wrote was pure stream of consciousness, you hidden gems buried in your words: transportive vignettes, accidental haikus, or entire chapters that could be tweaked and reworked as short stories. You can highlight these in a some sort of color-coded system within the document, or copy and paste the gems into a new document. However you do it, find a way to make your favorite parts stand out.
This serves two purposes. First, these snippets will serve as excellent mood boosters when that dreaded imposter syndrome rears its ugly head. Second, you can put these bits and pieces to work for you right now by submitting them to literary magazines. Many lit mags pay for accepted pieces, but beyond the money, they can also be a fun and rewarding way to get your best work in front of readers’ eyes. That’s the dream for so many of us, right?
Looking for suggestions for where to submit? Our very own Racquel Henry founded Black Fox Literary Magazine, which just celebrated its tenth anniversary, and Voyage: A Young Adult Literary Journal. Members of The Write Gym can also look forward to a round-up of publishers open to submissions every month. But if you want to narrow down your search for lit mags to just those that are hungry for your genre, my first recommendation will always be The (Submission) Grinder! (Quick note: make sure wherever you submit and whatever contract you sign will allow you to publish your work after the fact.)
