What happens after you’ve completed your first draft?
You’ve written every day (or nearly every day) for a month and after all the plot wrangling, character exploration and getting words down onto the page – whether they wanted to get written or not – you’ve got a first draft of your novel. Congratulations! As someone who has attempted Nano three times, I’ve only ever completed it once, and it was perhaps the ropiest thing I’ve ever written!
But what next?
Continue Writing
You might only be halfway through your draft. If you’re writing epic fantasy or a sweeping historical novel, there may well be more story to tell. In which case, keep writing! You’ve created a writing habit. If you can, why not stick to it? You might let yourself off the 1667 words every day, but a daily writing habit might just be the routine you need to reach your target.
Put it in the bottom drawer
For thirty days you’ve been absorbed in your writing. You may have produced a wonderfully clean, brilliantly polished first draft. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have produced a slightly ropey first draft that hangs together with varying levels of quality. Whatever you’ve ended up with, you have been consumed by it for the past month and before you do anything, it’s important to rest your manuscript and only get it back out of the bottom drawer after time has passed. For me, this is usually January, but you may want to tackle it sooner, or later. Fresh eyes will really help you to rewrite and edit your first draft into better shape.
Share it with a trusted reader
After a few weeks of writing your novel, you may begin to wonder whether what you’ve written is any good (It IS! There will always be something wonderful about what you’ve written, even if the manuscript as a whole isn’t quite working yet!). This might be a good time to get a trusted friend, beta reader, or professional to assess your manuscript. Their feedback could help you to explore what works and what might need to be looked at again.
How can I help?
If you are considering working with a Developmental Editor or Copyeditor soon or are in the market for a Manuscript Assessment, contact me to talk about your project.
