NaNoWriMo is Over. Now What?

So, NaNoWriMo 2016 is over! This is the part where many emotions are rampant. Relief, excitement, and possibly even sadness over the fact that you no longer have an excuse to stay up all night writing, and pass on all social events. 

But now you also have some choices-- and some recovery on the way.

First off, deal with your Caffeine Abuse

If you're like me and can't write without the muse a cup of java provides, you may need to ween yourself off of the coffee. Of course, then, you may as well just waiting until the editing process is complete.

Week One: ALL THE CAFFIENE

Final Week: All the caffeine 

Jump Right into the Editing Process:

While you're still caffeinated and have your gumption, maybe it's best just to jump into the editing process. Reading over your novel, especially when you haven't read any of it during the entirety of NaNo can be exciting. But it can also be nerve wracking.

But no matter. If it's bad, you still have that first draft and that is something you can work with! Here are some tips for editing:

(1) Read through for content first. Make sure the story flows, and that your characters's actions and reasons for doing them make sense. Don't worry about editing too much this time around, just see how your story sounds.

(2) This time read through your story slower and do the page edit. This is where you fix all the typos and stuff like that. This is more tedious, so you'll want to not have sworn off coffee quite yet.

(3) Take a rest, put your book aside for a while so that you can some back to it later with a clear head. Maybe now is the time to get a trusted friend or family member to read it for you and give you their opinion. Sometimes other people can give you ideas and pointers that you never even thought of.

(4) Read through it again after waiting a few weeks. See if it's still good, and do the second page edit. No one is a superhero about editing, even grammar Nazis (though they want you to believe the Grammar Reich is infallible)

But I'm exhausted! I just Want to sleep again!

If you really don't want to edit your story, don't fret. No one says you have to go right into editing! Maybe you haven't even finished your story yet. This is a great time to do NaNo Part Two! If you have finished your story and you still don't want to do anything take a break! Fix your caffeine addiction, and get some sleep. When you come back to your story, it will already be with a clear head. 

Maybe you can even offer your services to be a beta for a friend who just doesn't know when to quit.

It's also perfectly acceptable to just sit back and bingewatch something. Netflix is your friend post NaNo.

So there you have it! How to survive after NaNo is over. I wish everyone who won this year my congratulations, and to those who didn't make the 50,000 keep trying! Not every story wants to be written.

See you guys, next year!

~~~~~

Gif credits:

Sink me I win again: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/96/57/d2/9657d2089306279cdcb91302a3f46686.jpg

Brain dead: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/3e/42/41/3e4241b2fa7bfb2c27cf4d8f6be9b681.gif

Caffeine abuse 1: https://66.media.tumblr.com/ff8c97b080a509ff2760805a2a1a2976/tumblr_mnn49bkK4v1qd099xo1_500.gif

This is literature: http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/37/37ed909a1904c3bb27b3ec91a32230c934a6f8080eca977abfba66d3b0e80da8.jpg

Aragorn: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a4/25/67/a42567d258f1d1e7e689951de8aad328.jpg

I can’t: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c1/b4/a7/c1b4a7366ca8dececae0498fcab6fca3.jpg

Reading Loki: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/28/49/3e/28493ef2982a2d5930847b4b76becf1c.jpg

Bingewatching Cas: http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/cc/b5/5b/ccb55b664998d9e955fb8f0b6cce6c7f.gif