So NaNoWriMo is Over

Photo credit: greg westfall. on Flickr

Incredibly, it is now December 2nd, which means NaNoWriMo 2016 has come to an end. This has been a particularly difficult NaNo for many—with what happened with the election at the beginning of the month, a lot of writers were completely thrown off and understandably found it difficult to get back into the swing of things again. Not to mention all of the very important events that have happened after the election, which have proved to be the kind of distraction from writing you really can't ignore, because it's too important.

So all of that is to say NaNoWriMo was understandably difficult for a lot of writers this year. Luckily, some writers on Twitter are putting together a NaNoWriMo re-do, headed by literary agent @HannahFergesen, under the hashtag #NaNoReDo.

Writer friends: The election derailed my #NaNoWriMo2016. To make up for it, I'm doing NoWriMo 2.0 in December. Anyone else with me?

— Hannah Fergesen (@HannahFergesen) November 17, 2016

If you have finished NaNoWriMo, however, congratulations! I did manage to finish #MagicMurderMayhem's first draft (complete around 60,000 words), which I am both relieved and happy about, because it means I wrote three manuscripts this year, which is a first. It was more of a struggle than usual because even without the election stuff, I've been the busiest in my life this month—but it was definitely rewarding.

So if you've finished NaNoWriMo, now what? I've already written a blog and posted a vlog on Post-NaNoWriMo steps, so I won't reiterate everything, but the most important part is this: take a break. Whatever a break means for you, do it—for me, it means not writing until 2017 (unless something deadline-related comes in, of course), reading, getting back into my exercise routine, playing some games, and enjoying the extra couple hours I have in the day. Earlier this week, for example, I finished all my daily work by 1:30PM which hadn't happened this month before at all. It was nice. :)

But the point is, absolutely make sure you give your brain a break before you dive into revisions. I always try to take at least a month off whenever possible—and given that I have two recent manuscripts to choose from when it comes to revisions, I may very well get more distance from my NaNo novel by starting the one I wrote earlier this year first.

But before I start really thinking about revising anything, it'll be time to relax, read, and enjoy not working on any particular manuscript. Because breaks are a truly important part of the writing process that shouldn't be forgotten.

Did you finish NaNoWriMo if you participated? Are you taking a break? Doing #NaNoReDo? Share your thoughts! 

Twitter-sized bite:

Finish #NaNoWriMo? Will you take a break this month, write, or revise? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)