Nanowrimo Novel Progress... and Sequel!

I didn't want to say anything before, in case I jinxed my progress. Now that I've been going strong for more than a month, I think it's about time that I talk about what I've been up to.

After I finished my Nanowrimo novel, I decided to let it 'settle' for at least a month. Okay, so let's be honest: the thought of editing terrifies me. I proved to myself writing The Hidden Land of Gre that I could write a novel-length first draft. But I've always gotten snagged when it comes to taking that tangled collection of duds and gems and spinning it into something beautiful.

My fear of editing could have easily led me to abandon the novel completely. And the internal voices telling me to just leave it, your next one will be better did not help matters. However, I decided that I would form a plan, and that I would stick with it, and that that would see me through.

And so far, it's worked. Phase one of the plan is to KEEP WRITING. Write every day, every single day, even if it's only for 15 minutes. And I've managed to keep the schedule through a major cold and the entire holiday season, so that's given me strength. Phase two of the plan is to KEEP READING. Using this mantra, I managed to read through the entire first draft of my Nanowrimo novel.

And you know what? It wasn't completely terrible. It's workable. It's doable. It will take a lot of time and effort, but I really think I can make something of it. Not only that, but the plan to keep on writing and keep on reading will keep me going on the path, no matter what happens to this particular piece. Here's to continuing in the fight!