This is it. My last post about NaNoWriMo (for this year, at least). I've enjoyed documenting my first full journey to 50,000 words, even if sometimes I was so busy writing I didn't see the point in writing about writing. It's been a hectic month, that's for sure, and now that it's December the only thing left to do with our hastily written manuscripts is to begin editing. Woohoo! Okay, so my "woohoo" is a tiny bit sarcastic, but it never hurts to inject some energy into what may seem like a daunting task. As I mentioned in my last post, editing can be hard. Really hard. For me, sometimes editing is even more difficult than writing everything down in the first place. But especially if you're tired of reading the same piece over and over again, editing can seem like a tedious and--let's face it--boring task to undertake.
No matter how much we might want to deny it, editing is a crucial part in the writing process. First drafts are rarely perfect and, whether your goal is to publish your finished manuscript or not, usually require some serious rewriting. Entire scenes get cut, others get added, characters appear and disappear.... You get the idea. Of course, I've never submitted a manuscript to review before, nor have I had a full developmental edit done on any of my stories. But I've been a part of the publishing process for a few years now, working for small companies usually as a copy editor to check and double check the grammar, spelling, and consistency of a piece before it moves along the publishing assembly line. I've definitely learned a thing or two about how manuscripts are handled throughout the entire publishing process. (It's also kind of what I've been learning for the past three and a half years in college, so I'd hope I know how the industry works!) What I mean to say is, editing is important. And, as the next step after getting your story out and onto the page, it's naturally the next thing to think about after finishing NaNoWriMo. The NaNoWriMo website has a feature that allows writers to promise to revise their NaNo manuscripts during what they call the "Now What?" months of January and February. I'm not sure how this feature works since I didn't complete the 2015 challenge, but I'm excited to see if the website has further prompts and exercises to aid participants who completed this year's challenge in the revision process. Personally, I have my own plans for revising my first draft produced in those thirty fast-paced days. Next semester will be my last before I graduate, and as a writing major I'm required to complete a projects (called a capstone) of my choosing. That's right. I can do pretty much whatever I want, as long as it related to my major and illustrates what I've learned over the past four years. With capstone in mind, I've decided to take my soon-to-be-finsihed first draft, produced with the help of NaNoWriMo, and do a full developmental edit. By the end of my last semester I should have a complete second draft ready for.... Well, I'm not sure what it will be ready for. Querying? Maybe. I don't feel comfortable proclaiming that my manuscript will be so great that I should try to get it published, but to be honest I'll probably never feel that way. And hey, there's never any harm in trying. Who knows? I could be plesantly surprised with the results! So thank you, National Novel Writing Month, for giving me the push I very much needed in order to complete (or, almost complete) my first ever full-length manuscript. And of course, I never could have started without the help of my wonderful Senior Seminar classmates and professor, who provided incredible support and advice to get my story started. I've never had so much time just to write before, and I loved every minute of it. Now, on to editing!
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Who Am I?Introverted bookworm, vegan foodie, casual runner, writer/editor, envier of tiny houses, Hufflepuff/Pukwudgie, and self-declared nerd. Creating Order From Chaos
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December 2016
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